Misleading: Vitamin D and COVID ICU Risk

Tracy Davenport

Health

13th October 2020

Misleading: Vitamin D and COVID ICU Risk

Vitamin D may help, but does not abolish ICU risk (Getty Images).

The Claim

Taking Vitamin D abolishes the risk of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization for COVID-19.

News posted on

Emerging story

On September 3, 2020, someone posted on Twitter that vitamin D abolishes the risk of serious illness with COVID-19. The claim was based on the release of a recent study. The post was then liked or retweeted more than 8000 times.

Misbar’s Analysis

The study in question was published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Misbar's investigation found that the research was designed to determine if providing vitamin D supplementation (along with several other interventions) to COVID-19 patients would reduce admission to hospital intensive care units. The trial included 76 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. In the study, the patients were randomly chosen to receive or not receive vitamin D. The vitamin D supplementation came in the form of calcifediol taken orally. Of the 50 patients treated with calcifediol, only one required admission to the ICU (2%), while of 26 untreated patients, 13 required admission (50%). Of the patients treated with calcifediol, none died, and all were discharged from the hospital without complications. Of the 13 patients admitted to the ICU, two died.

This is not the only recent vitamin D and COVID-19 study. Another study associated with Boston University looked at vitamin D levels as they relate to COVID-19 positivity rates. This research used data from individuals who previously had their vitamin D levels tested. Over 190,000 patients from all 50 states were considered in the study. What they found was as Vitamin D levels rose, positive COVID-19 tests declined.

As we wait for a vaccine for COVID-19, both studies are encouraging. However, it is premature to say vitamin D abolishes ICU risk when someone has COVID-19. In the first study, there were only 50 patients treated with vitamin D. It was only a pilot study, designed to determine if a larger, more meaningful study should be conducted. The second study was retrospective, looking back on data that had already been gathered. This can leave a lot of questions to be answered, like why the study group had their vitamin D checked in the first place. Did they have a condition that would require their vitamin D to be checked?

Vitamin D deficiency is widely prevalent around the world. There is agreement that vitamin D is necessary for bone and general health. However, there is not enough research yet to state that vitamin D nearly abolishes ICU risk from COVID-19.