While there is currently no cure for coronavirus, research indicates a link between deficiency in Vitamin D and Coronavirus.
A recent retrospective study of patients tested for COVID-19 by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center found an association between vitamin D deficiency and the likelihood of becoming infected with the virus.
“Vitamin D is important to the function of the immune system, and vitamin D supplements have previously been shown to lower the risk of viral respiratory tract infections,” says David Meltzer, M.D., a lead author of the study. “Our statistical analysis suggests this may be true for the COVID-19 infection.”
In the study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers looked at 489 subjects whose vitamin D level was measured a year before being tested for COVID-19. Patients who had a vitamin D deficiency that was not treated were almost twice as likely to test positive for coronavirus compared with patients who had sufficient levels of the vitamin.
Half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, with much higher rates seen in African Americans, Hispanics and individuals living in areas like Chicago where it is difficult to get enough sun exposure in winter.
“Vitamin D is inexpensive, generally very safe to take and can be widely scaled,” says Meltzer, whose team is continuing clinical trials.
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