Vitamin D is no longer considered an agent only affecting calcium phosphate metabolism. A number of studies over the past few years have demonstrated its role in immunomodulation and its influence on the development and functioning of the brain and nervous system. In the current epidemiological crisis caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the immunoprotective role of vitamin D has been discussed by some authors regarding whether it contributes to protection against this serious disease or whether its use does not play a role. Non-standard approaches taken by laboratories in examining the serum levels of the vitamin D metabolite calcidiol have contributed to inconsistent results. We examined the serum of 60 volunteers in the spring and autumn of 2021 who declared whether they were taking vitamin D at the time of sampling. Furthermore, the tested participants noted whether they had experienced COVID-19. A newly developed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was used to measure calcidiol levels. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) model of Statgraphics Centurion 18 statistical software from Statgraphics Technologies was used for calculations. The results of this study showed that those who took vitamin D suffered significantly less often from COVID-19 than those who did not take vitamin D.

Department of Steroids and Proteofactors Institute of Endocrinology Národni 8 11694 Prague Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Bičíková M., Máčová L., Jandová D., Třískala Z., Hill M. Movement as a Positive Modulator of Aging. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021;22:6278. doi: 10.3390/ijms22126278. PubMed DOI PMC

Vieth R. Vitamin D supplementation: Cholecalciferol, calcifediol, and calcitriol. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2020;74:1493–1497. doi: 10.1038/s41430-020-0697-1. PubMed DOI

Xu J., Zhou Y., Yan C., Wang X., Lou J., Luo Y., Gao S., Wang J., Wu L., Gao X., et al. Neurosteroids: A novel promise for the treatment of stroke and post-stroke complications. J. Neurochem. 2021;160:113–127. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15503. PubMed DOI

BiČíková M., Duskova M., Vítků J., Kalvachová B., Řípová D., Mohr P., Stárka L. Vitamin D in Anxiety and Affective Disorders. Physiol. Res. 2015;64:S101–S103. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.933082. PubMed DOI

Nithila M.R., Roy N.M., Al-Harthi L., Sampat N., Al-Mujaini R., Mahadevan S., Al Adawi S., Essa M.M., Al Subhi L., Al-Balushi B., et al. Impact of vitamin D on neurocognitive function in dementia, depression, schizophrenia and ADHD. Front. Biosci. 2021;26:566–611. doi: 10.2741/4908. PubMed DOI

Carlberg C. Nutrigenomics of Vitamin D. Nutrients. 2019;11:676. doi: 10.3390/nu11030676. PubMed DOI PMC

Grant W.B. Review of Recent Advances in Understanding the Role of Vitamin D in Reducing Cancer Risk: Breast, Colorectal, Prostate, and Overall Cancer. Anticancer Res. 2019;40:491–499. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.13977. PubMed DOI

Abdi F., Ozgoli G., Rahnemaie F.S. A systematic review of the role of vitamin D and calcium in premenstrual syndrome. Obstet. Gynecol. Sci. 2019;62:73–86. doi: 10.5468/ogs.2019.62.2.73. PubMed DOI PMC

Ciavattini A., Serri M., Carpini G.D., Morini S., Clemente N. Ovarian endometriosis and vitamin D serum levels. Gynecol. Endocrinol. 2016;33:164–167. doi: 10.1080/09513590.2016.1239254. PubMed DOI

Kalaitzopoulos D.R., Lempesis I.G., Athanasaki F., Schizas D., Samartzis E.P., Kolibianakis E.M., Goulis D.G. Association between vitamin D and endometriosis: A systematic review. Hormones. 2019;19:109–121. doi: 10.1007/s42000-019-00166-w. PubMed DOI

Giampaolino P., Corte L.D., Foreste V., Bifulco G. Is there a Relationship Between Vitamin D and Endometriosis? An Overview of the Literature. Curr. Pharm. Des. 2019;25:2421–2427. doi: 10.2174/1381612825666190722095401. PubMed DOI

Ao T., Kikuta J., Ishii M. The Effects of Vitamin D on Immune System and Inflammatory Diseases. Biomolecules. 2021;11:1624. doi: 10.3390/biom11111624. PubMed DOI PMC

Charoenngam N., Holick M.F. Immunologic Effects of Vitamin D on Human Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2020;12:2097. doi: 10.3390/nu12072097. PubMed DOI PMC

Dissanayake H.A., de Silva N.L., Sumanatilleke M., de Silva S.D.N., Gamage K.K.K., Dematapitiya C., Kuruppu D.C., Ranasinghe P., Pathmanathan S., Katulanda P. Prognostic and Therapeutic Role of Vitamin D in COVID-19: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2021;107:1484–1502. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab892. PubMed DOI PMC

Ghasemian R., Shamshirian A., Heydari K., Malekan M., Alizadeh-Navaei R., Ebrahimzadeh M.A., Warkiani M.E., Jafarpour H., Bazaz S.R., Shahmirzadi A.R., et al. The role of vitamin D in the age of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021;75:e14675. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.14675. PubMed DOI PMC

Pereira M., Dantas Damascena A.D., Galvão Azevedo L.M.G., de Almeida Oliveira T.D.A., da Mota Santana J.D.M. Vitamin D deficiency aggravates COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 2022;62:1308–1316. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1841090. PubMed DOI

Zelzer S., Prüller F., Curcic P., Sloup Z., Holter M., Herrmann M., Mangge H. Vitamin D Metabolites and Clinical Outcome in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients. Nutrients. 2021;13:2129. doi: 10.3390/nu13072129. PubMed DOI PMC

Hadizadeh F. Supplementation with vitamin D in the COVID-19 pandemic? Nutr. Rev. 2020;79:200–208. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa081. PubMed DOI PMC

Povaliaeva A., Bogdanov V., Pigarova E., Dzeranova L., Katamadze N., Malysheva N., Ioutsi V., Nikankina L., Rozhinskaya L., Mokrysheva N. Impaired Vitamin D Metabolism in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients. Pharmaceuticals. 2022;15:906. doi: 10.3390/ph15080906. PubMed DOI PMC

De Smet D., De Smet K., Herroelen P., Gryspeerdt S., A Martens G. Serum 25(OH)D Level on Hospital Admission Associated With COVID-19 Stage and Mortality. Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 2020;155:381–388. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa252. PubMed DOI PMC

Diaz-Curiel M., Cabello A., Arboiro-Pinel R., Mansur J.L., Heili-Frades S., Mahillo-Fernandez I., Herrero-González A., Andrade-Poveda M. The relationship between 25(OH) vitamin D levels and COVID-19 onset and disease course in Spanish patients. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2021;212:105928. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2021.105928. PubMed DOI PMC

Reis B.Z., Fernandes A.L., Sales L.P., Santos M.D., dos Santos C.C., Pinto A.J., Goessler K.F., Franco A.S., Duran C.S.C., Silva C.B.R., et al. Influence of vitamin D status on hospital length of stay and prognosis in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19: A multicenter prospective cohort study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2021;114:598–604. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab151. PubMed DOI PMC

Grant W.B., Lahore H., McDonnell S.L., Baggerly C.A., French C.B., Aliano J.L., Bhattoa H.P. Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths. Nutrients. 2020;12:988. doi: 10.3390/nu12040988. PubMed DOI

Yasui T., Miyatani Y., Tomita J., Yamada M., Uemura H., Miura M., Irahara M. Effect of vitamin K2 treatment on carboxylation of osteocalcin in early postmenopausal women. Gynecol. Endocrinol. 2006;22:455–459. doi: 10.1080/09513590600900402. PubMed DOI

Pizzini A., Aichner M., Sahanic S., Böhm A., Egger A., Hoermann G., Kurz K., Widmann G., Bellmann-Weiler R., Weiss G., et al. Impact of Vitamin D Deficiency on COVID-19—A Prospective Analysis from the CovILD Registry. Nutrients. 2020;12:2775. doi: 10.3390/nu12092775. PubMed DOI PMC

Carlberg C., Haq A. The concept of the personal vitamin D response index. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2018;175:12–17. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2016.12.011. PubMed DOI

DeLuca H.F. Overview of general physiologic features and functions of vitamin D. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004;80:1689S–1696S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1689S. PubMed DOI

Elamir Y.M., Amir H., Lim S., Rana Y.P., Lopez C.G., Feliciano N.V., Omar A., Grist W.P., Via M.A. A randomized pilot study using calcitriol in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Bone. 2021;154:116175. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116175. PubMed DOI PMC

Amraei R., Rahimi N. COVID-19, Renin-Angiotensin System and Endothelial Dysfunction. Cells. 2020;9:1652. doi: 10.3390/cells9071652. PubMed DOI PMC

Shukla A.K., Banerjee M. Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme 2 and Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors in COVID-19: An Update. High Blood Press. Cardiovasc. Prev. 2021;28:129–139. doi: 10.1007/s40292-021-00439-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Goddek S. Vitamin D3 and K2 and their potential contribution to reducing the COVID-19 mortality rate. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2020;99:286–290. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.07.080. PubMed DOI PMC

Myneni V.D., Mezey E. Regulation of bone remodeling by vitamin K2. Oral Dis. 2016;23:1021–1028. doi: 10.1111/odi.12624. PubMed DOI PMC

Bioanalytical Method Validation Guidance for Industry. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Center for Veterinary Medicine; Rockville, MD, USA: 2018.

Meloun M., Hill M., Militky J., Kupka K. Transformation in the PC-Aided Biochemical Data Analysis. Clin. Chem. Lab. Med. 2000;38:553–559. doi: 10.1515/CCLM.2000.081. PubMed DOI

Meloun M., Militký J., Hill M., Brereton R.G. Crucial problems in regression modelling and their solutions. Analyst. 2002;127:433–450. doi: 10.1039/b110779h. PubMed DOI

Vitamin D, a steroid hormone, from theory to practice