Science takes up the issue: Vitamin D deficiency in COVID-19 patients - A deadly connection

Article by Prof. Dr. Jörg Spitz Fortunately, there are scientists who look at the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic independently of the hunt for a vaccine, which may be futile but is in any case worth billions. The University of Hohenheim, headed by Prof. Dr. med. Biesalski, has just published a paper on the connection between vitamin D deficiency and comorbidities in COVID-19 sufferers.

The paper was published at the end of June in the renowned NFS Journal   (Nutrition and Food Science) and is freely available (1). Every reader can only be advised to take a thorough look at this publication. At this point, only the basic question can be described and the conclusions resulting from the consideration of the study situation.

Initial situation:

Low vitamin D status is widespread worldwide, especially in regions of northern latitudes, but also in southern countries. In Europe, vitamin D deficiency is particularly severe during the winter months and affects older people and migrants in particular. In Scandinavia, on the other hand, only 5% of the population is affected by a low vitamin D status, in Germany, France and Italy more than 25%, among them especially older people; e.g. in Austria up to 90% of the elderly. In Scandinavian countries, the low incidence of vitamin D deficiency may also be due to the traditional consumption of cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin D, or to genetic factors that lead to a higher synthesis of vitamin D into the epidermal layer. Taken together, low vitamin D status is the inglorious rule in Europe, with the exception of Scandinavian countries. Calculated COVID-19 mortality rates from 12 European countries show a significant inverse correlation with mean vitamin D levels [Laird, 2020].

This raises the question of whether insufficient vitamin D supply has an influence on the course of COVID-19 disease.

In this publication, Prof. Biesalski considers, among other things, the various effects of vitamin D, but in particular the essential effect on the immune system and the connections with various factors and comorbidities that represent risk factors in COVID 19 disease. These include: Age, gender, smoking status, chronic kidney disease, COPD, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes.

Prof. Biesalski's conclusion is clear:

An insufficient supply of vitamin D has a variety of skeletal and non-skeletal effects. There is ample evidence that various non-communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome) are associated with low plasma vitamin D levels. These comorbidities, together with the often accompanying vitamin D deficiency, increase the risk of severe COVID-19 disease. Much more attention should be given to the importance of vitamin D status in the development and progression of this disease. In particular, with current methods of pandemic control (lockdown), natural vitamin D synthesis in the skin is reduced when people have little opportunity to be exposed to the sun. The short half-lives of the vitamin therefore make increasing vitamin D deficiency more likely. Targeted dietary advice, moderate supplementation or fortified foods can help prevent this deficiency. In case of hospitalisation, the vitamin D status should be urgently checked and, if possible, improved.

What Professor Biesalski could not yet know: After his manuscript was already finished, an elaborate gene analysis was published in the USA. Here, in addition to the connections between vitamin D and the high-risk comorbidities he had mentioned, a direct influence of vitamin D on the infection process in the cells was found: Vitamin D influences the expression of 30% (84 out of 332) of those human genes that affect proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that are active in the cell. This process involved 70% of the proteins in question. This study is also freely available (2). In the meantime, 8 studies have started to investigate the effect of supplementation with vitamin D at different doses (up to 200,000 I.U./day) on the course of COVID-19 disease. The aim is to clarify whether supplementation with vitamin D in different doses has an influence on the course of the disease or, in particular, on the immune response, or whether it can prevent the development of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) or thromboses. These approaches can only be applauded. We will report on new results here or in the context of the "SonnenAllianz" project. Until then, we can only strongly recommend using the free power of the sun in healthy moderation, taking your own vitamin level seriously (40 - 60 ng/ml) and thus doing the best for yourself - and if you convince others - for your fellow human beings. Yours, Jörg Spitz

Sources:

1. https://spitzen-praevention.com/2020/07/07/die-wissenschaft-greift-das-thema-auf-vitamin-d-mangel-und-komorbiditaeten-bei-covid-19-patienten/
2. Biesalski, H. K. (2020) 'Vitamin D deficiency and co-morbidities in COVID-19 patients - A fatal relationship?', NFS Journal. Elsevier Ltd, 20, pp. 10-21. doi: 10.1016/j.nfs.2020.06.001.
3. Glinsky, G. V. (2020). Tripartite Combination of Candidate Pandemic Mitigation Agents: Vitamin D, Quercetin, and Estradiol Manifest Properties of Medicinal Agents for Targeted Mitigation of the COVID-19 Pandemic Defined by Genomics-Guided Tracing of SARS-CoV-2 Targets in Human Cells. Biomedicines, 8(5), 129. doi:10.3390/biomedicines8050129
4. Laird, J. Rhodes, R.A. Kenny, Vitamin D and inflammation: potential implications for severity of Covid-19, Ir. Med. J. 113 (2020) 81.