A new study found that higher levels of ‘vitamin from the sun’ reduce the risk of infection in the black population.
Nearly half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, according to David O. Meltzer, MD, PhD, head of hospital medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine. However, more than three quarters of people with darker skin have low levels of this crucial nutrient.
He was inspired to examine data on Covid-19 cases, after seeing an article more than a year ago reporting that people taking vitamin D supplements had much lower rates of viral respiratory infections.
The study looked at more than 3,000 patients in the city who had their vitamin D measured within two weeks of a Covid-19 test.
Levels of at least 30 ng / ml (nanograms per milliliter) are generally considered “sufficient”, but black participants with this vitamin D level were two and a half times more likely to catch Covid than those who had 40 ng / ml or more .
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They had a 7.2 percent chance of a positive test for the virus – 2.64 times that of the general population.
Vitamin D can be obtained by eating egg yolk, salmon or meat or by taking supplements, but it is also produced naturally by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight.
People with darker skin are more often deficient because having more melanin in their skin reduces their ability to synthesize vitamin D from the sun.
The findings published in the JAMA Open Network are based on an earlier study suggesting that less than 20 ng / ml of vitamin D increases Covid’s risk.
Another recent study showed that more than eight out of ten coronavirus patients were deficient in vitamin D.
“This supports the arguments for designing clinical trials that can test whether vitamin D may or may not be a viable intervention to reduce the risk of the disease, especially in people of color,” said Dr. Meltzer, the study’s lead author. .
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Supplements are relatively safe to take – and currently the recommended dietary intake for adults of vitamin D is 600 to 800 IU per day (15 to 20 micrograms). The NHS in Britain recommends taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D every day in the winter – the equivalent of a salmon fillet – to keep bones and muscles healthy.
But they have updated their advice since the blockades are taking the British into the home.
“The National Academy of Medicine said that taking up to 4,000 IU per day is safe for the vast majority of people,” adds Meltzer.
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One of the challenges of the current study is that it is difficult to determine exactly how vitamin D may be supporting immune function.
Dr. Meltzer said: “This is an observational study. We can see that there is an association between vitamin D levels and the likelihood of a Covid-19 diagnosis.
“But we don’t know exactly why that is, or if these results are directly due to vitamin D or other related biological factors.”
Motivated by the new evidence, the researchers are now conducting two studies to see whether taking a daily supplement can help prevent Covid-19 or lessen the severity of its symptoms – and British Health Secretary Matt Hancock reversed his earlier beliefs and asked to Public Health in England to “re-review existing evidence on the link between Covid-19 and vitamin D.”
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