Science

Vitamin D supplements reduce Covid-19-related mortality, study finds

Prashasti Awasthi Mumbai | Updated on January 11, 2021 Published on January 11, 2021

A lower rate of intensive care unit admissions seen among those who received vitamin D

Many studies have reported the importance of vitamin D against the novel coronavirus. A new study further adds to the growing body of evidence that vitamin D can alleviate Covid-19-related mortality.

The novel study noted that prescribing vitamin D supplementation to Covid-19 patients seems to decrease the mortality rate, the severity of the disease, and serum levels of inflammatory markers.

Researchers carried out a systematic review aiming to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on clinical outcomes and mortality rate of Covid-19 patients.

Also read: ‘Healthy diet plays vital role in keeping Covid-19 at bay’

The study, published in the journal medRxiv* server, highlights the role of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the risk of severe illness and death due to Covid-19.

The team conducted a systematic review to arrive at the study findings, including research from PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Ovid up to December 16, 2020.

Three of the studies revealed a significantly lower mortality rate among the intervention groups compared to the control groups.

Two of the studies showed that the clinical outcomes based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement (OSCI) score for Covid-19 were lower in patients who received vitamin D supplementation.

Also read: WHO releases physical activity guidelines to stay healthy

Further, a study showed that there is a lower rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions among those who received vitamin D.

The researchers wrote: “Vitamin D supplementation seems to decrease the mortality rate, the severity of the disease, and the inflammatory markers’ levels among the Covid-19 infected patients, leading to a better prognosis and increased survival… More studies should be conducted to determine the optimum dosage and route of vitamin D supplementation and further investigate the potential prophylactic effects.”

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Published on January 11, 2021
medical research
Covid-19
coronavirus
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