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Having higher levels of the “ sunshine vitamin ” has been shown to reduce the risk of infection in black people, a new study has found.
Nearly half of Americans are vitamin D deficient, according to David O. Meltzer, MD, PhD, chief of hospital medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine. But more than three-quarters of people with darker skin have low levels of this essential nutrient.
He was inspired to review data on Covid-19 cases, after reading an article over a year ago reporting that people taking vitamin D supplements had significantly higher rates of viral respiratory infections. weak.
The study analyzed more than 3,000 patients in the city who had 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 level of vitamin D were more than two and a half times more likely to catch Covid than those who had 40 ng / ml or Continued.
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They had a 7.2% chance of testing positive for the virus, which is 2.64 times more than the general population.
Vitamin D can be obtained by eating egg yolks, salmon or meat or by taking supplements, but it is also produced naturally by the body when the skin is exposed to the sun.
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 results published in the JAMA Open Network build on an earlier trial suggesting that less than 20 ng / ml of vitamin D increases the risk of Covid.
Another recent study showed that more than eight in ten coronavirus patients were deficient in vitamin D.
“This supports the case for designing clinical trials that can test whether vitamin D can be a viable intervention to reduce disease risk, especially in people of color,” said lead author Dr Meltzer. of the study.
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Supplements are relatively safe to take – and currently the recommended adult dietary intake 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 each day in winter – the equivalent of a salmon fillet – to keep bones and muscles healthy.
But they have updated their advice since the lockdowns push the British inside.
“The National Academy of Medicine has stated that taking up to 4000 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’s difficult to determine exactly how vitamin D can support 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 diagnosis of Covid-19.
“But we don’t know exactly why, or whether these results are directly due to vitamin D or other related biological factors.”
Driven by new evidence, researchers are currently conducting two studies to find out whether taking a daily supplement can help prevent Covid-19 or reduce the severity of its symptoms – and UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has reversed his previous beliefs and asked Public Health England. to “re-examine the existing evidence on the link between Covid-19 and vitamin D.”
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