Summary by Utah Sports and Wellness

Link to Original Article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34017029/

May 2021. 60,000 IU’s of Vitamin D for 8-10 days. 27 References.

 

Inflammatory markers were assessed on initially and on the last day:

  • Vitamin D Levels
  • Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio
  • C-reactive Protein
  • Lactate Dehydrogenase
  • Interleukin 6
  • Serum Ferritin

All patients were confirmed to have COVID-19 with hypovitaminosis D:

  • Between the two groups, there was no significant difference in age, BMI, or duration of symptoms.
  • COVID-19 is known to cause immune dysregulation and vitamin D is a known immunomodulator.
  • The immune dysregulation caused by COVID-19 leads to respiratory failure and multi organ dysfunction syndrome.
  • Observational studies have reported that patients with higher levels of serum vitamin D had less severe symptoms in prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
  • The beneficial effects of vitamin D in COVID-19 were attributed to be mediated through its multiple actions on the immune system.

Other Key Points:

  • Vitamin D is known to enhance the production of various anti-microbial peptides.
  • Vitamin D promotes the innate immune response to infections.
  • It is postulated that levels of vitamin D above 40–60 ng/ml could be protective to tide over the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Both magnesium and vitamin D are important to the immune system independently.
  • Improvement of serum vitamin D level to 80–100 ng/ml has significantly reduced the inflammatory markers without any side effects.