This brief video on the evidence surrounding the link between Vitamin D deficiency and the risk of COVID-19 is an entry for the Society of Endocrine student video competition 2021.
you may have seen or heard conflicting reports in the media about vitamin d and its ability to reduce the risk of covid19 so what do we actually know well vitamin d is also called the sunshine hormone because it’s made by our skin in response to uv radiation from the sun and in addition to strengthening our muscles and bones it’s thought that vitamin d attaches itself to cells that make up the body’s defense against infection and switches them onto killer mode preventing bacteria and viruses from infecting cells in our lungs second vitamin d also protects us from the sars cove 2 virus that causes covid19 well there is little evidence to support this theory data from over 46 000 people used in 42 studies worldwide was put together and interestingly it showed vitamin d supplementation had a modest but significant protective effect against lung infections caused by bacteria and viruses but we can’t prove whether this protective effect necessarily applies to stars too some recent small studies have shown that having low vitamin d levels was associated with more severe outcomes from covid19 in addition those at most risk of being vitamin d deficient including elderly and nursing home residents people living with obesity and people with darker skin such as those from black and asian ethnicities have been worse affected by the virus however other studies showed no link between vitamin d levels and its effectiveness in preventing or treating covid19 several larger studies are underway to clarify this evidence however the government advised that every adult in the uk should take 10 micrograms or 400 units or vitamin d each day between october and march when the sun isn’t strong enough in the uk to make adequate amounts of vitamin d in our skin or throughout the year if they are at higher risk of vitamin d deficiency particularly during lockdown thank you for watching this brief video on vitamin d supplementation produced by charles latford a fifth year medical student at the university of manchester