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. 2021 Jun:43:276-282.
doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2021.03.040. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels in patients with COVID-19

Abdolahi Shahvali Elham  1 , Khalighi Azam  2 , Jahangirimehr Azam  3 , Labibzadeh Mostafa  4 , Bahmanyari Nasrin  5 , Najafi Marzieh  6
Affiliations

Serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels in patients with COVID-19

Abdolahi Shahvali Elham et al. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background and aim: COVID-19 is a global public health concern. As no standard treatment has been found for it yet, several minerals and vitamins with antioxidants, immunomodulators, and antimicrobials roles can be sufficient for the immune response against the disease. The present study evaluates the serum vitamin D, calcium, and Zinc levels in patients with COVID-19.

Materials & methods: This research is a case-control study performed in May 2020 on 93 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in a Shoushtar city hospital and on 186 healthy subjects with no symptoms of COVID-19. The serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels were collected and analyzed using correlation coefficient and independent t-test via SPSS 18.

Results: Vitamin D levels had a significant difference between the case and control groups (p = 0.008). Serum calcium and serum zinc levels also had statistically significant differences between the two groups (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The research results showed that serum zinc, calcium, and vitamin D levels in COVID-19 patients are lower than in the control group. The supplementation with such nutrients is a safe and low-cost measure that can help cope with the increased demand for these nutrients in risk of acquiring the COVID-19 virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Calcium; Vitamin D; Zinc.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest concerning this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ROC diagram for the serum levels of vitamin D, calcium, and zinc for differentiating healthy and diseased individuals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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