A team of Spanish researchers uncovered that about four in five patients, or the majority, infected with COVID-19 showed vitamin D deficiencies. Their study appeared in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
The research team at the University of Cantabria and Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla examined 216 patients who tested positive for the recent coronavirus which may have originated in Wuhan, China.
The study assessed the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (250HD) levels among the infected patients and any influence the disease may have on their vitamin D status.
“Of the 216 patients, 19 were on vitamin D supplements and were analyzed separately,” the research team stated in their findings.
“25OHD values were lower in men than in women. Vitamin D deficiency was found in 82.2% of COVID-19 cases and 47.2% of population-based controls,” they also determined. “We did not find any relationship between vitamin D concentrations or vitamin deficiency and the severity of the disease.”
The Spanish-based research team also showed that the participants who tested positive for coronavirus exhibited a higher prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
The study, as disclosed in their news release, received fundings from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
