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Review
. 2020 Nov 19;18(1):23.
doi: 10.1186/s12948-020-00139-0.

Vitamin D and Covid-19: an update on evidence and potential therapeutic implications

Affiliations
Review

Vitamin D and Covid-19: an update on evidence and potential therapeutic implications

Giuseppe Murdaca et al. Clin Mol Allergy. .

Abstract

The world is now experiencing its third major epidemic of coronavirus (CoV) infections began in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in late 2019 and named COVID-19. After an initial explosive outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in China, the disease spread first to neighboring Asian countries and then worldwide. Patients with COVID-19 presented with a constellation of symptoms such as fever, dry cough, dyspnea, sore throat, and nasal congestion and radiological findings showed bilateral lung glassy opacities. Vitamin D has many mechanisms by which it reduces the risk of microbial infection and death, including physical barrier, cellular natural immunity, and adaptive immunity. Vitamin D supplementation has shown favorable effects in viral infections including influenza and HIV. The effects of vitamin D supplementation during covid 19 infection remain controversial. Looking ahead, clinical studies are needed to define better cut offs for vitamin D levels and, finally, which dosage is the best.

Keywords: Covid-19; Vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effects of vitamin D on immune system, calcium metabolism and cytokines

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