A critical update on the role of mild and serious vitamin D deficiency prevalence and the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe.

In this study, vitamin D deficiency did not correlate to COVID-19 infection rate. COVID-19 mortality was significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency.   

• 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. 

20 European countries

• 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. 

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.

• • • Inclusion criteria for the study were: population-based studies that reported As a last step, out of the articles 
      • • 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.  
    • 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. 

Bakaloudi DR, Chourdakis M. A critical update on the role of mild and serious vitamin D deficiency prevalence and the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe. Nutrition. 2022 Jan; 93:111441. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2021.111441. Epub 2021 Jul 30. PMID: 34492624; PMCID: PMC8321689.