Can Vitamin D Protect You Against Covid-19?

For the past few days, we have been constantly hearing how vitamin D can protect us against COVID-19. But does vitamin D actually protect you from coronavirus?

Let's understand the basics first. Your skin gets vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. The vitamin is essential for bone growth and strength as it helps in the intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Vitamin D is fat-soluble and regulates the immune response of white blood cells by preventing them from releasing too many inflammatory cytokines. Excess of cytokines can lead to cytokine storm, which is a complication associated with COVID-19. Cytokine storm is an acute immune reaction which makes the body destroy its own cells and tissues along with the virus.

Who is more at risk?

Older and darker-skinned people who are likely to have low levels of Vitamin D may benefit from supplementation of the essential vitamin to protect against severe symptoms of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), according to a paper published in The Lancet. Clinicians, however, say that dosing on the vitamin in hope of being protected from the infection is a fallacy, as the best and only protection against infection remains hand-wash, wearing masks and social isolation.

Vitamin D is made by the skin on exposure to sunlight and is essential for bone growth and strength as it helps in the intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. This fat-soluble vitamin also modulates the immune response of white blood cells by preventing them from releasing too many inflammatory cytokines, which is what leads to the cytokine storm — a complication associated with Covid-19 and other disease such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and middle-east respiratory syndrome (Mers). Cytokine storm is an acute immune reaction gone awry as the body starts destroying its own cells and tissues along with the virus.

What does the Lancet Study say......

The Lancet paper speculates vitamin D deficiency as one of the possible reasons for death rates across different countries. It cited an observational study published in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research that used data from 20 European countries. According to it, the average vitamin D levels are low in Italy and Spain. Surprisingly, these countries have witnessed high coronavirus death rates compared to north European countries. North Europeans have comparatively high levels of vitamin D from the consumption of cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements.

The Lancet paper cites vitamin D deficiency as one of the possible reasons for varying death rates across countries citing an observational study published in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research that used data from 20 European countries. It noted that average vitamin D levels are low in Italy and Spain, which have experienced high Covid-19 death rates compared to north European countries, which have high average levels of vitamin D from the consumption of cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements, and possibly less sun avoidance.

“Vitamin D might help to reduce the inflammatory response to infection with Sars-CoV-2. Deregulation of this response... is characteristic of COVID-19 and degree of over-activation is associated with poorer prognosis. e,” according to The Lancet paper.

Problem of Vitamin D deficiency

“Our study found that vitamin D deficiency was 63% in people with diabetes, 58% in people with pre-diabetes, and 80% in obese people, which is worrying because these are risk factors for COVID-19,” says Dr V Mohan, study co-author and chairman and chief of diabetology at Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre, which is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention and Control.