Review the Research
Get summaries of key research on vitamin D and COVID-19
A critical update on the role of mild and serious vitamin D deficiency prevalence and the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe.
Take Home Message
In this study, vitamin D deficiency did not correlate to COVID-19 infection rate. COVID-19 mortality was significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency.
Results
- Cases of COVID-19 infection per million people displayed a non-significant, positive correlation (r = 0.363, P = 0.116) with the prevalence of Vit D deficiency (<50 nmol/L).
- A non-significant correlation (r = 0.215, P = 0.392) was also observed between COVID-19 infections and severe Vit D deficiency (<30 nmol/L).
- COVID-19 mortality per million people was significantly correlated with the prevalence of Vit D deficiency (<50 nmol/L; r = 0.634, P = 0.003).
- A positive correlation was found between the prevalence of severe Vit D deficiency (<30 nmol/L; r = 0.538, P = 0.021) and COVID-19 mortality rates.

Who
20 European countries
Things to Keep in Mind
- This was a unique study design and as such may not have utilized reliable sources of data
- Printed material may not be peer-reviewed and therefore should not be used as clinical practice guidelines.
- 20 European countries were included in the data and the author’s feel this is sufficient to generalize findings.
- Data was not pulled from national-level surveys; it was pulled from published studies with the most representative data for each country’s population.
Author’s Conclusions
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The prevalence of neither mild nor severe Vit D deficiency was associated with the number of COVID–19 infections in European countries. Thus, it is an important parameter to consider when implementing preventive measures to face COVID–19.
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Study Design
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- Inclusion criteria for the study were: population-based studies that reported As a last step, out of the articles
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- Information on COVID-19 infections, recoveries, and mortalities was retrieved Data on the prevalence of Vit D deficiency in these countries were extracted by from the Worldometer website, which provides real-time statistics. This source contains data derived directly from official government reports of individual countries and indirectly through reliable local media resources. a comprehensive electronic search in the PubMed database (up to June 23, 2021). data including the year 2010; studies reporting non-institutionalized adults (ages 18 y); studies defining mild Vit D deficiency as serum concentration < 20 ng/mL or < 50 nmol/L and/or severe deficiency as < 12 ng/mL or < 30 nmol/L; studies reporting the prevalence of Vit D deficiency in the sample population; European countries with population > 1 million; and European countries in which > 60 000 COVID-19 tests per million people were performed.
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- Editorials, commentaries, book chapters, book reviews, and studies confined to a selective sample of community-dwelling people, such as pregnant women, menopausal women, and people with diagnosed illnesses, were excluded. screened for each country, the data on the prevalence of Vit D deficiency were retrieved from the most recently published study (with measurements completed not earlier than 2010), including the most representative sample for each country.
- Inclusion criteria for the study were: population-based studies that reported As a last step, out of the articles
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