As we continue to face ongoing waves of COVID-19, new research from the University of South Australia (UniSA), conducted in partnership with King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, suggests that maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D may reduce the risk of hospitalisation due to the virus.
The large-scale study, involving more than 150,000 participants from the UK Biobank, found that people with vitamin D deficiency (<25nmol/L) and vitamin D insufficiency (25-49nmol/L) were more likely to be hospitalised if they contracted COVID-19 than those with normal levels of vitamin D (50+nmol/L).
However, vitamin D levels didn’t appear to influence the risk of contracting the virus.
Australian-based researcher and epidemiologist, UniSA’s Dr Kerri Beckmann, says the findings could identify vulnerable people and guide future public health advice.
“Vitamin D plays a key role in regulating the immune system, so it’s plausible that low levels may influence how the body responds to infections like COVID-19,” says Dr Beckmann.
“Our study found that people with a vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency were more likely to be hospitalised with COVID-19 than those with healthy levels of Vitamin D – but they weren’t more likely to catch the virus in the first place.”
Dr Beckmann says that while risk from COVID-19 has lessened over time, the virus remains a public health concern.
“Understanding who is most at risk helps those individuals take extra precautions, including monitoring their vitamin D levels,” says Dr Beckmann.
“It could be that people who are in poor health to start with may also have low vitamin D levels.
“So, at this stage, we don’t know whether vitamin D supplements in themselves could reduce the severity of COVID-19.
“It’s certainly an area worth exploring – especially as we continue to live with the virus.”
Vitamin D deficiency is a common condition, affecting approximately 4 million Australian adults.
Globally, it’s estimated that 1 billion people have vitamin D deficiency, with 50% of the population showing insufficient vitamin D levels.
