Recent research shows vitamin D helps prevent respiratory illness and benefits immune function. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda) report says that “maintaining a sufficient vitamin D status may therefore be of benefit in the Covid-19 pandemic”.
One-in-four people aged over 70 are likely to be deficient the vitamin, according to the Tilda research. The analysis reviews vitamin D deficiency in older people and its implications for Covid-19.
Of additional concern is the fact that only 10.5 per cent of those aged over 70 report taking a supplement despite the “usefulness of vitamin D for immune function particularly at this time”.
“If vitamin D status is sufficient, it could benefit vulnerable adults in particular those 70+ years and older who are ‘cocooning’ during the Covid-19 outbreak,” the Tilda report notes.
Each year in Ireland, one-in-eight older adults are deficient in vitamin D. The number of older adults deficient in vitamin D almost doubles in winter. This number is expected to be much higher now due to restrictions on movement following the outbreak of Covid-19.
