Vitamin D Status in Hospitalized Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Study answer

What this study found

Serum 25OHD was lower in hospitalized COVID-19 patients (13.8 ± 7.2 ng/mL) than in controls (20.9 ± 7.4 ng/mL; P<0.0001). Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) occurred in 82.2% of cases vs 47.2% of controls (P<0.0001). 25OHD inversely correlated with ferritin (P=0.013) and D-dimer (P=0.027). Vitamin D-deficient patients had more hypertension and cardiovascular disease, higher ferritin and troponin, and longer hospital stay than those with 25OHD ≥20 ng/mL. No causal link between vitamin D deficiency or levels and severity/mortality of COVID-19 after adjustments; power for severity endpoints was…

Study & population

Retrospective case-control design.

Intervention

Oral vitamin D supplements: cholecalciferol 25,000 IU monthly (10 patients); cholecalciferol 5,600 IU weekly (1 patient); calcifediol 0.266 mg monthly (8 patients); duration >3 months prior to admission.

Key limitation

Observational, retrospective, single-center study; cannot establish causality; small vitamin D supplement subgroup with variable dosages; not all vitamin D-related parameters measured; different 25OHD assays used for cases and controls; no dietary assessment; data not imputed; limited power for severity endpoints.

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Original abstract