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. 2020 May 9;12(5):1359.
doi: 10.3390/nu12051359.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations Are Lower in Patients with Positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2

Antonio D'Avolio  1 , Valeria Avataneo  1 , Alessandra Manca  1 , Jessica Cusato  1 , Amedeo De Nicolò  1 , Renzo Lucchini  2 , Franco Keller  2 , Marco Cantù  2
Affiliations

25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations Are Lower in Patients with Positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2

Antonio D'Avolio et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with a clinical outcome ranging from mild to severe, including death. To date, it is unclear why some patients develop severe symptoms. Many authors have suggested the involvement of vitamin D in reducing the risk of infections; thus, we retrospectively investigated the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in plasma obtained from a cohort of patients from Switzerland. In this cohort, significantly lower 25(OH)D levels (p = 0.004) were found in PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2 (median value 11.1 ng/mL) patients compared with negative patients (24.6 ng/mL); this was also confirmed by stratifying patients according to age >70 years. On the basis of this preliminary observation, vitamin D supplementation might be a useful measure to reduce the risk of infection. Randomized controlled trials and large population studies should be conducted to evaluate these recommendations and to confirm our preliminary observation.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; concentrations; coronavirus; deficiency; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest and no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the three evaluated groups (patients from 1 March to 14 April of 2019 and 2020 with a negative PCR, and of 2020 with a positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2. *: significant results.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the three evaluated groups divided by gender (patients from 1 March to 14 April of 2019 and 2020 with a negative PCR, and of 2020 with a positive PCR to SARS-CoV-2; (B) 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the three evaluated groups divided by age (0–70 years vs. >70 years) (patients from 1 March to 14 April of 2019 and 2020 with a negative PCR, and of 2020 with a positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2. *: significant results.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the three evaluated groups divided by gender (patients from 1 March to 14 April of 2019 and 2020 with a negative PCR, and of 2020 with a positive PCR to SARS-CoV-2; (B) 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the three evaluated groups divided by age (0–70 years vs. >70 years) (patients from 1 March to 14 April of 2019 and 2020 with a negative PCR, and of 2020 with a positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2. *: significant results.
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