Increased risk for COVID-19 in patients with vitamin D deficiency 

 

This study demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection, after controlling for sex, age, malabsorption, dental diseases, race, diabetes and obesity in a majority male (71.3%) and Black/Other (88%) population in Florida.  

Patients who were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency between October 1, 2015 and June 30, 2020 and were also diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020 at the University of Florida Health Center.

A COVID-19 positive diagnosis between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. 

• From a total population of 987,849 patients, 887 were positively diagnosed with COVID-19, 31,950 were diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency, and 87 patients had both vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19.  
• The COVID-19-positive/vitamin D deficient subgroup of 87 patients was 71.3% male and 88% Black or non-White.  
• Patients with vitamin D deficiency were 4.6 times more likely to have a positive COVID-19 status than patients with no deficiency. 
• The association decreased slightly after adjusting for sex  and malabsorption , respectively. 
• The association decreased significantly but remained robust after adjusting for race , periodontal disease status, diabetes, and obesity, respectively.  
• Patients with vitamin D deficiency were 5 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than patients with no deficiency after adjusting for age. 

• As a cross-sectional study, this analysis cannot address the question of causality.  
• Dental diseases, vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 share common confounding variables such as socioeconomic status and racial predisposition that may affect this association. 
• Data on the initial infection severity status, COVID-19 treatments and length of vitamin D deficiency are missing from this analysis. 
• The vitamin D deficient plus COVID-19-positive population is both majority male and Black/Other. The conclusions may not be applicable to female or White populations. 
• The vitamin D data may have been collected up to 5 years prior to COVID-19 infection. 
• Prospective interventional studies are required to validate the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation can be helpful for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. 

The present study has demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is associated with COVID-19 infection, after controlling for sex, age, malabsorption, dental diseases, race, diabetes and obesity in a majority male (71.3%) and Black/Other (88%) population in Florida. 

• This was a cross-sectional, retrospective study. 
• The University of Florida Health Center’s i2b2 patient registry platform was used to generate an account of patients using the international classification of diseases (ICD)-10 diagnosis codes for vitamin D deficiency, diabetes, obesity, malabsorption, caries, periodontal disease, and periapical abscesses for the period October 1, 2015, through June 30, 2020. Data for the COVID-19 diagnosis code was gathered for the period January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. Demographic data was provided by the platform. 

Katz J, Yue S, Xue W. Increased risk for COVID-19 in patients with vitamin D deficiency. Nutrition. 2021;84:111106. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2020.111106 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7716744/