Vitamin D Deficient 10x More Likely to Die of COVID-19

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the evidence that vitamin D could play an important role in reducing the harm from COVID-19. The article focused on evidence that vitamin D plays a critical role in immune system function and the ample evidence that it’s effective in preventing acute respiratory infections. At the time, COVID-19 was so new that there was no evidence about vitamin D’s specific effects against COVID-19. That has changed. Now there is mounting evidence from around the globe that correcting vitamin D deficiency could save many, many lives.

The Latest Research on Vitamin D and COVID-19

In a study published on May 6, researchers looked at the mean levels of vitamin D for 20 European countries and the levels of infections and fatalities in each country. They found that the lower the levels of vitamin D in the country, the higher the morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. Ironically, in the sunny southern countries in Europe, including Italy and Spain, vitamin D levels are lower than in the colder Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden. This is because at risk elderly people in the warmer climates tend to avoid the sun, while supplementation with vitamin D and fortification of foods with vitamin D is more common in the more northern countries.

Even more compelling evidence comes from two recent patient-specific studies from Indonesia and the Philippines. In the Indonesian study, researchers looked at 780 cases with laboratory-confirmed infection with COVID-19. They classified vitamin D status as normal >30 ng/ml, insufficient 21-29 ng/ml and deficient <20 ng/ml. 98.9% of vitamin D deficient cases died, 87.8% of vitamin D insufficient cases died, while only 4.1% of cases with normal vitamin D levels died. Vitamin D insufficient cases were 12.55 times more likely to die, while vitamin D deficient cases were approximately 19.12 times more likely to die. Even after accounting for the possible bias of age, sex and comorbidity on the association of Vitamin D and mortality, they found that vitamin D deficient patients were 10.12 times more likely to die than patients with normal vitamin D levels.

In a study of 212 COVID-19 patients in the Philippines, researchers classified patients as mild, ordinary, severe and critical. Their analysis found that 85.5% of patients with sufficient (>30ng/ml) Vitamin D had mild cases while 72.8% of patients who were deficient in Vitamin D (<20ng/ml) had severe or critical cases.

The mechanisms for the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of infection are known. They include “inducing cathelicidins and defensins that can lower viral replication rates and reducing concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines that produce inflammation that injures the lining of the lungs, leading to pneumonia”.

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What You Can Do About Your Vitamin D Status

Despite the fact that vitamin D is safe (except in very rare instances of overdose), affordable and available and that thousands are dying every day from COVID-19, the mainstream medical community is still saying it is too early to recommend supplementation. Fortunately, vitamin D is available over-the-counter, and you can make up your own mind after reading the evidence.

According to noted holistic physician Dr. Joseph Mercola, individual needs for vitamin D supplementation vary widely and it’s impossible to predict how much you personally may need unless your blood levels are measured. Typically, ranges are from 2,000 to 10,000 units (IUs) per day. Normally, testing involves a simple trip to a lab for a blood test, but these days that can be risky. Dr. Mercola recommends that, unless you are experiencing symptoms of a worsening respiratory infection, you do home testing with this kit. The test takes 10-20 days to process once received. Dr. Mercola recommends aiming for a level of 60 ng/ml.

My own personal take on this, and I am not a doctor, just an educated consumer, is that there is no time to waste. New COVID-19 infections are rampant in the U.S. and globally. Vitamin D deficiencies are common and vitamin D hypervitaminosis is rare. The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones. According to the Mayo Clinic, taking 60,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity. This level is many times higher than the levels recommended.

If you have not been supplementing with vitamin D and you are not in the sun frequently without sunscreen, you are most likely vitamin D deficient. You are even more likely to be vitamin D deficient if you have darker skin, as the higher melanin levels in darker skin reduce the production of vitamin D from sun exposure. Also, aging reduces production of vitamin D,

As an added bonus, vitamin D deficiency is associated with many chronic illness, including chronic pain, bone pain and weakness, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, depression, dementia and multiple sclerosis, so increasing your vitamin D levels will most likely improve your overall health status.

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