The Role of Vitamin D in the Age of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence recommends that vitamin D might be a crucial supportive agent for the immune system, mainly in cytokine response regulation against COVID-19. Hence, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to maximize the use of everything that exists about the role of vitamin D in the COVID-19. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science up to December 18, 2020. Studies focused on the role of vitamin D in confirmed COVID-19 patients were entered into the systematic review. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies containing 11901participants entered into the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis indicated that 41 of COVID-19 patients were suffering from vitamin D deficiency (95 CI, 29-55), and in 42 of patients, levels of vitamin D were insufficient (95 CI, 24-63). The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 20.3 ng/mL among all COVID-19 patients (95 CI, 12.1-19.8). The odds of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 is 3.3 times higher among individuals with vitamin D deficiency (95 CI, 2.5-4.3). The chance of developing severe COVID-19 is about five times higher in patients with vitamin D deficiency (OR: 5.1, 95 CI, 2.6-10.3). There is no significant association between vitamin D status and higher mortality rates (OR: 1.6, 95 CI, 0.5-4.4). CONCLUSION: This study found that most of the COVID-19 patients were suffering from vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. Also, there is about three times higher chance of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 among vitamin D deficient individuals and about 5 times higher probability of developing the severe disease in vitamin D deficient patients. Vitamin D deficiency showed no significant association with mortality rates in this population.