Common vitamin deficiency linked to Covid hospitalisation risk

A vitamin deficiency common in the UK has been linked to a higher risk of Covid hospitalisation, according to research.

The study, conducted by King's College, in collaboration with Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust and the University of South Australia, investigated whether vitamin D levels affect a person's risk of contracting Covid.

The research also examined whether those infected were more likely to become seriously ill. Vitamin D is known to bolster the immune system, so understanding its role could help identify individuals at greater risk from the virus, scientists suggested.

The paper, published in PLOS One, found that individuals with low levels of vitamin D in their blood were more likely to be hospitalised with COVID-19. However, low vitamin D levels did not increase the likelihood of catching the virus initially.

These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence suggesting that sufficient vitamin D could lessen the severity of illnesses such as Covid. Researchers analysed health data from over 150,000 people who were part of the UK Biobank.

Professor Sophia Karagiannis, Professor of Translational Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy at King's College London and co-author of the study, said: "Our findings in the significant size population of the UK Biobank point to the importance of vitamin D in supporting and maintaining a healthy immune system to fight infections and the need to expand research in even larger and diverse populations across the world."

The professor added: "Next steps could be to test whether boosting vitamin D levels, by perhaps a combination of dietary adjustments, supplementation and controlled sun exposure, it may be possible to mitigate severe effects of COVID-19 infection."

Vitamin D supplements can be purchased from Boots for approximately 2p per tablet, though experts have stated it remains uncertain whether these alone can lessen the severity of Covid.

Additional research is required to better comprehend whether enhancing vitamin D status could help shield against more serious outcomes, experts stated.