More Vitamin D, Lower Risk of Severe COVID-19?

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More Vitamin D, Lower Risk of Severe COVID-19?

06/10/2020 06:00AM | 2921 views

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Could having a healthy blood level of vitamin D help you avoid the intensive care unit and death if you become infected with COVID-19?

Several groups of researchers from different countries have found that the sickest patients often have the lowest levels of vitamin D, and that countries with higher death rates had larger numbers of people with vitamin D deficiency than countries with lower death rates.

Experts say healthy blood levels of vitamin D may give people with COVID-19 a survival advantage by helping them avoid cytokine storm, when the immune system overreacts and attacks your body's own cells and tissues.

The early research is not yet peer-reviewed, and other experts say scientific proof is lacking that vitamin D could prevent COVID-19 or make the infection milder.

Researchers are trying to figure that out -- at least 8 studies are listed on clinicaltrials.gov to evaluate vitamin D's role in preventing or easing COVID-19.

In the meantime, some people say there’s no harm in taking the vitamin as a precaution.

"I feel like if there is anything we can be doing at the moment to support our body, I am totally on board," says Jackie Wilcox, 38, of Newburyport, MA, near Boston. Her family, including her husband and two children, are taking daily supplements.

Pre-COVID-19 Research on Vitamin D's Benefits

While the recent research on vitamin D and COVID-19 is just starting, other research has found that vitamin D supplements can help reduce the risk of respiratory infection. And researchers who looked back at the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic found that patients with healthy vitamin D blood levels were less likely to die.

The research linking vitamin D levels and COVID-19's cytokine storm is also just starting, but not surprising, says Bart Roep, PhD, chair of the department of diabetes immunology at City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, CA. Vitamin D, he says, is ''the negotiator" because "it doesn't suppress the immune system, it modulates it. Vitamin D makes the immune cells less inflammatory."

Slideshow

Sunlight and Your Health

It’s Not All Bad

When you think of the sun, your first thought might be about the damage it can do. And too much can cause several kinds of serious health issues. But small amounts, especially early in the day before it’s at its brightest, can be good for you in some ways.

How Much Is Enough?

This answer is different for everyone. It depends on your skin tone, age, health history, diet, and where you live. In general, scientists think 5 to 15 minutes -- up to 30 if you’re dark-skinned -- is about right to get the most out of it without causing any health problems. You can stay out longer and get the same effect if you use sunscreen. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.

Vitamin D

The sun’s UV rays help your body make this nutrient, which is important for your bones, blood cells, and immune system. It also helps you take in and use certain minerals, like calcium and phosphorus. And while most people get enough vitamin D from food, children who don’t can get rickets, which softens and weakens their bones.

Vitamin D and Disease

Too much time outside can raise your chances of skin cancer, but the risk of developing certain conditions such as multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases may be higher in people who live in northern climates. Scientists think this might be linked to lower levels of vitamin D.

Better Sleep

Your eyes need light to help set your body’s internal clock. Early morning sunlight in particular seems to help people get to sleep at night. This may be more important as you age because your eyes are less able to take in light, and you’re more likely to have problems going to sleep.

Weight Loss

Morning light also seems to help people keep the fat off. You need 20 to 30 minutes between 8 a.m. and noon to make a difference, but the earlier you get it, the better it seems to work. Scientists think the sun’s rays may shrink fat cells below your skin’s surface. More sunshine means you’re probably getting more exercise too, which is good for you in lots of ways, including shedding pounds.

Emotional Well-Being

Sunlight helps boost a chemical in your brain called serotonin, and that can give you more energy and help keep you calm, positive, and focused. Doctors sometimes treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other types of depression linked to low levels of serotonin with natural or artificial light.

Eye Health

Moderate amounts of sun over your lifetime, especially in your teen and young adult years, might make you less likely to have problems seeing things at a distance (nearsightedness). But too much direct sunlight can hurt your eyes. It can lead to blurred vision and raise your chances of cataracts.

Your Skin

Researchers think the three primary types of skin cancer -- melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma -- are mostly caused by too much time in the sun. So it’s very important to use sunscreen or cover up if you’re going to be outside longer than 15 minutes or so. But regular, small amounts of ultraviolet light may help ease the symptoms of certain skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo.

Sunlight as Treatment

In addition to some skin issues, filtered sunlight also can be used to treat a condition called jaundice that mostly affects newborns. It happens when there’s too much of the chemical bilirubin in the blood, and it makes a baby’s skin look slightly yellow. Putting the baby in sunlight behind a window (to filter out the harmful kinds of rays) may help get rid of the bilirubin. Never put a newborn in direct sunlight outside.

Don’t: Get Too Much Sun

Too much time outside without protection can not only make you more likely to get skin cancer, it can make your skin age faster, too, causing wrinkles, a leathery texture, and dark spots. And sunburned skin uses white blood cells from your immune system to heal. That can affect your body’s ability to fight off germs and make you more likely to get sick.

Do: Protect Your Eyes

You need sunglasses that block UV light and broad-brimmed hats whenever you’re outside for a while. The sun can damage your eyes any time, not just in summer, and the rays can pass right through clouds. (Don’t forget that kids need this same protection, too.)

Do: Use Sunscreen

An SPF of 15 or higher is best. Look for “broad exposure,” which blocks more of the UV light. Put it on 30 minutes before you go outside, and don’t forget areas like your lips, ears, and neck. Put more on if you swim or sweat. Try to stay out of the direct sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest, and take breaks inside.

Don’t: Go to Tanning Beds

This also raises your chances of skin cancer. If you do it before age 35, you’re 60% more likely to get melanoma, the most serious form. Even one session can raise your odds of melanoma by 20% and other types by as much as 65%. If you want that all-over body tan, tanning lotions might be an option. Most are safe, but they usually don’t have sunscreen in them, so don’t forget to put that on as well.

Do: Go to the Dermatologist

Check your skin once a month or so. If possible, ask a family member to help if you can’t see everywhere on your body. Stand in front of a full-length mirror -- a chair and a hand mirror can help -- and look all over for any new growths or changes in old spots. See your doctor or dermatologist if you notice anything unusual.

While research finds that low vitamin D may affect how severe COVID-19 is, it's not yet known if restoring vitamin D to normal levels would help as a treatment. Nor can anyone say for sure that having a healthy vitamin D level will help you avoid the virus.

A researcher from the University of Southeastern Philippines evaluated the vitamin D blood levels of 212 people diagnosed with COVID-19 and found the blood level of vitamin D was lowest in those in critical condition and highest in those with a milder infection. The conclusion of his paper, not peer-reviewed, is that supplements ''could possibly improve clinical outcomes of patients infected with COVID-19."

"We already know we need it for bone health," says Ilie, the U.K. researcher. "Waiting for the evidence on vitamin D and COVID-19 -- how do I say this -- the evidence may come too late to help."

But not everyone agrees that vitamin D may be useful in taming COVID-19. Researchers from the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine posted a ''rapid review" of the evidence on May 1, concluding ''There was no evidence related to vitamin D deficiency predisposing to COVID-19, nor were there studies of supplementation for preventing or treating COVID-19."

The researchers also say that while there is ''overlap" between some groups at risk of being low in vitamin D and groups at high risk of getting COVID-19, including older adults, people of color, and those with chronic diseases, those associations are not proven.

In a recent peer-reviewed study, researchers who evaluated more than 348,000 people, including 449 with confirmed COVID-19, found no link between vitamin D levels and risk of infection, nor a link that might explain ethnic differences in developing the infection.