Is vitamin D effective in protecting against COVID-19? New research has linked low vitamin D levels to an increased risk of COVID-19 infection to a specific group of people.
Researchers from Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center used data from the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS), a prospective cohort study that began in 1995 and recruited 59,000 black women aged 21 to 69 years.
The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS ONE.
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According to the research, Black American women with low vitamin D levels had a 69 percent higher risk of COVID-19 infection than women with adequate vitamin D levels.
The link between low serum vitamin D and higher risk of infection was strongest among obese women, an important finding given the higher prevalence of obesity among Black women compared to other American women.
Other studies have shown an inverse relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19 infection, but they mostly included White people or didn’t offer estimates based on race or BMI.
These results, which are the first to show a link between blood vitamin D and COVID-19 infection in Black women, may assist to explain why Black women are overrepresented among COVID-19 infections, since this group is prone to vitamin D deficiency.
The research also found that a number of significant variables pertaining to the likelihood of COVID-19 infection, such as the number of persons in the home, years of schooling, and the socioeconomic level of the residential area, did not account for the association.
Vitamin D insufficiency and obesity are known to increase the risk of chronic illnesses such as osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. COVID-19 has now been added to that list.
Co-author Yvette Cozier, DSc, associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health and an investigator on the Black Women’s Health Study at BU’s Slone Epidemiology Center says that “nearly one out of four people have vitamin D blood levels that are too low or inadequate for bone and overall health”.
“Our study provides another reason why adequate levels of vitamin D are important — the possibility of lowering risk of COVID-19 infection.”
Clinical studies are now ongoing to see whether vitamin D reduces the risk of COVID-19 or helps individuals with COVID-19 manage their symptoms, but the findings are not yet available.
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More study is required to validate these results and identify the optimum amount of vitamin D for COVID-19 protection.
Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
