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- New research has found that patients with severe COVID-19 did not appear to benefit from taking a high dose of vitamin D.
- This is contrary to previous studies suggesting that vitamin D could help reduce the severity of coronavirus cases or prevent infection.
- More research is needed to see if patients can benefit more if they lack nutrients or if early treatment with vitamin D can prevent complications from the coronavirus.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
There is growing evidence that vitamin D could play an important role in preventing coronavirus infections or improving patient outcomes.
But a new study found that a large dose of the nutrient did not appear to reduce the severity of the disease, as previous studies had suggested.
The study was shared online as a pre-publication on November 17 and has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
Researchers at the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, examined 240 Brazilian patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 between June and October. Half of the patients were randomized to receive a single large dose of 200,000 IU of vitamin D3; the other half received a placebo.
The dose in this study, 200,000 IU, is 500 times the recommended daily amount of vitamin D, much more than most people would take on a regular basis.
They found that patients who received vitamin D did not seem to show improvement. They spent the same time in hospital, on average, as in the placebo group, and were just as likely to need intensive care, ventilator therapy, or die from their illness.
This suggests that vitamin D may not be an effective treatment for severe coronaviruses, the researchers say.
These findings contrast with previous evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to worse coronavirus outcomes
Previous research has found a link between a lack of vitamin D and a higher risk of getting infected with the coronavirus, having a severe case of COVID-19, or dying from the disease. These studies, however, only observed results, so they were unable to determine whether vitamin D directly caused better results. But they led scientists to theorize that making sure patients got enough vitamin D could help improve their ability to fight infections.
This latest study is the first double-blind randomized controlled trial (considered the gold standard for this type of research) to test whether vitamin D can help patients with COVID-19.
The results complicate previous theories. By supplementing with vitamin D, the researchers were able to ensure that patients had enough nutrients in their blood. But contrary to theory, it doesn’t seem to help treat the coronavirus.
More research is needed to understand who could benefit
There are, however, several limitations to the study.
First, all of the patients included in the study had already developed severe cases of the coronavirus. Several previous studies have shown that vitamin D may be effective if given to the patient early, before the disease worsens. A small study published in October found that coronavirus patients who received a very potent form of vitamin D were much less likely to need intensive care, and none of them died.
A study published in September found that patients with enough vitamin D were much less likely to face dangerous complications from the virus, such as difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness. And another small study found that people with vitamin D deficiency were twice as likely to get infected in the first place.
These suggest that the timing of vitamin D treatment could be an important factor in determining whether patients can benefit from it.
Another limitation of the latest study is that patients, who were hospitalized in the subtropical region of Brazil, were less prone to having vitamin D deficiency in the first place. If fewer of them were lacking in the nutrient, it could limit the benefits of supplementing it, the researchers said.
Finally, the study also included patients who also had health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. Some of them were taking medication for these illnesses. All of these factors could have influenced the results of the study.
All of this means that there is no reason to write off the benefits of vitamin D. Further research could help determine if some people could still benefit from nutrient supplementation.
Supplementing vitamin D does not hurt
This latest study also found that giving vitamin D to patients, even at very high doses, had no negative side effects.
The researchers found that of the 120 patients who received the massive dose of 200,000 IU, only one had a bad reaction, which was mild and short-term (vomiting after the dose).
This is contrary to a previous finding that high doses are dangerous to health. Existing evidence suggests that vitamin D can be safely supplemented, and although extremely large daily doses for months at a time can cause problems, this is an extremely rare event.
Dr Gareth Davies, a medical researcher who is part of a group of scientists who have been studying the role of vitamin D in preventing COVID-19 for months, suggests that most people could benefit from taking 4,000 daily. IU of vitamin D to keep their immune system healthy.
Read more:
British scientists are pushing to add vitamin D to bread and milk to fight COVID-19. Here’s why.
Drinking hot chocolate is linked to better memory abilities because it’s packed with brain-healthy nutrients, study finds
Scientists say sleeping pill melatonin may boost people’s defenses against coronavirus by reducing inflammation
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