As the number of Covid-19 positive cases cross 3.5 million with 247K deaths, more and more studies are coming up giving information about who does it affects more, the necessary precautions that can be taken to avoid the contact of the virus and decrease the mortality rate.
A recent study showed that the lack of Vitamin D can lead to higher chances of death due to the novel coronavirus.
Preliminary results carried out by scientists from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia have linked low levels of the hormone vitamin D with COVID-19 mortality rates across Europe.
It revealed a convincing correlation where countries with low vitamin D levels were also the countries with highest mortality and COVID-19 infection rates. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and scrutinised by other scientists and is unable to prove vitamin D is the reason behind this link.
The scientists in the study states that, ‘We believe, that we can advise Vitamin D supplementation to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection.’ This finding backs up a separate study which also found vitamin D may improve a person’s chance of recovery after contracting the coronavirus.
A simple statistical test showed a convincing correlation between the figures, where populations with lower than average concentrations of the vitamin also featured more deaths from SARS-CoV-2. “The most vulnerable group of population for COVID-19 is also the one that has the most deficit in vitamin D,” the researchers conclude in their study.
The results aren’t surprising, falling in line with previous, more robust studies that also suggest healthy vitamin D levels can reduce the risk of respiratory infections such as influenza and tuberculosis, as well as childhood asthma.
Recently, skin cancer researcher Dr Rachel Neale said that having low levels of vitamin D can be fatal if one also has the coronavirus.
Last year, Dr Neale found that people with low levels of vitamin D are almost twice as likely as those with high levels of vitamin D to develop acute respiratory infections. According to the study of 78,000 patients, people with vitamin D deficiencies were more likely to be sicker for longer.
However, it remains unknown why vitamin D may offer protection against infection by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent development of COVID-19.