Is there evidence that vit D protects you from Covid-10? At the moment - NO!

[PMRpro]

In view of a post this morning, which has now been deleted, claiming vit D will protect from Covid-19 I am posting the reply I had written so anyone who has heard the claim knows the background.

There is absolutely NO evidence that vit D "stops viruses", and, above all, none that shows it will protect from Covid-19.

This article summarises what IS known:

healthline.com/nutrition/vi...

This article Fact-checks the assertion that vit D has a role to play in Covid-19:

factcheck.afp.com/health-ex...

and identifies where this misinformation started.

It was revived by a doctor speaking to the media a couple of days ago about his vit D theory with regard to the fact that BAME communities are over-proportionately affected by Covid-19 deaths - BAME communities do tend to have a greater requirement for vit D supplementation for several reasons. However, it is unlikely that that will turn out to be the primary driver. After all, plenty of non-BAME patients in northern Italy and southern France were infected with and died of Covid-19 - in an area where we spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun all year round and where you would expect lack of vit D to be a minor problem.

However - while taking vit D won't do any harm, it is pointless taking it and then not adhering to the things that DO reduce your risk of catching Covid-19: staying at home, social distancing and regular handwashing with soap and (preferably) hot water.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Thank you!

[Pongo13]

Holland and Barrett have jumped on bandwagon - I just received an email from them....have I got enough vitamin d? Doesn’t help! Gave my daughter some I had - she takes regularly and just as well as wAitrose shelves were bare. (I wore a mask - my specs steamed up - I googled and advice is to wash in soapy water, leave to dry naturally then polish with soft cloth) - will see how it works next time! X

[Hidden in reply to Pongo13]

It's ok if socially isolated need to up it as not getting sunlight and some, like my neighbour children, haven't had sun since autumn. Then it could serve a function but NOT in relation to protection from viruses.

[Pongo13 in reply to Hidden]

You are absolutely right - I’m sure H&B mean well but I’m getting cynical in my old age and frustrated when I can’t get essential items due to panic buying. X

[Hidden in reply to Pongo13]

There will be people with cupboards full of vitamins that will be out of date before they get to them. Probably the same with food.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

There are already stories about people trying to return unwanted bulk purchases of canned goods and loo roll and being refused!

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

Idiots.

[Oumaof2 in reply to PMRpro]

Good!!

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

And should be directed to the local food bank...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

But then they wouldn't get their money back ...

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

Serves them right....community service.

[Constance13 in reply to Hidden]

As well as a year's worth of toilet paper!🧐

[Hidden in reply to Constance13]

I suppose that doesn't have a use by date but I hope it breaks their heart evrrytime they look at it.

[Constance13 in reply to Hidden]

Saved money in the end I suppose?????

[Hidden in reply to Constance13]

My last Tesco order had loo roll....none in. Fortunately got some this time 😊

[valezio in reply to Pongo13]

I received that email too. However I have been taking vitamin D for some time, well before this virus appeared. Vit D boosts the immune system so for me that’s great. I don’t go outdoors very much so I’m pleased I can get Vit D via a tiny tablet once a day. No it doesn’t protect from the virus but by upping the immune system it certainly helps us to stay healthy. Stay safe everyone x

[Nuisanc in reply to valezio]

I agree, Vit D has many benefits one of which boosts the immune system and contributes to greater feeing of well being. It is also essential for the absorption of calcium, an essential for those taking Alendronic acid for prevention of osteoporosis while on steroids.

[Agoodlife in reply to Nuisanc]

Here is recent research on vit.D that really seems very relevant in many ways.

doi.org/10.1155/2019/3494937

[Hidden in reply to Agoodlife]

Do you think you could summarise key issues as they relate to PMR please? It's complex, dense reading that many people might not understand so if you do it would be very helpful🌻

[Agoodlife in reply to Hidden]

I will try👍

[Hidden in reply to Agoodlife]

Thank you. 😊

[Theziggy]

Though to be honest, most people are deficient in Vitamin D, especially throughout October to March.

[Hidden in reply to Theziggy]

Yes. That why I boost mine and though on my last few find it difficult to replace.

[Theziggy in reply to Hidden]

I take the Vit D3 supplements too, though TBH a few hours in the garden with my sleeves rolled up at this time of year should top my levels up.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Theziggy]

Not until May as far north as NI. And my levels fall without supplements, even living in northern Italy where theoretically you can make vit D in the skin all year round. It all depends on the skin factory working well - and by 65 you are producing about a quarter of what you did at age 20.

[Theziggy in reply to PMRpro]

I have never been tested for my Vit D levels so don't know. And I have Spring starting in April. Ah, still 30 years to go!

[Omanain in reply to PMRpro]

Didn't you post and article a little while back saying that they thought women would benefit from larger doses of Vitamin D?

It was nothing to do with viruses or Corvid19 though.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Omanain]

Very probably - but it was likely to be that 2000 IU is more to the point than the 800 IU we get in the calcium supplements.

However, the reason for this thread was that someone was suggesting we post about how vit D would protect BAME populations from Covid-19. Which is unlikely to be the only reason that BAME communities are far more affected than others - it is never as simple as one single factor. More vit D is good - but it isn't going to be a miracle ...

[Hidden in reply to Theziggy]

I am not even getting in the garden. The kids next door neither as the youngest has severe asthma and has been hospitalised several times.

[Nuisanc in reply to Theziggy]

You are right, research shows the population north of Watford, in particular the population of Glasgow were deficient as we are not getting enough sunlight in winter months and our absorption during the summer varies but not enough to be adequately stored. Worse affected are those elderly or disabled who can’t go out and those wearing veil or hijab

[Agoodlife in reply to Theziggy]

And those who are over 60 and those who have AI disease and those who have dark skin. Has also been. Shown that surprisingly many living in the South of France are deficient

[Agoodlife]

Don’t really understand the debate.Vit D is an essential vit for our metabolism to function as well as our immune system. Having an supportive level of the vit making our immune system work optimally certainly doesn’t prevent the virus but it Does help with how we cope with the different complications,as we have seen in children and older patients.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Agoodlife]

That wasn't the point. Someone posted demanding we should post about it protecting BAME patients from Covid 19. It doesn't, it is a theory propagated by one GP which remains to be looked at.

[valezio in reply to Agoodlife]

I so agree with you, it does benefit us. Many are prescribed it.xxx

[SheffieldJane]

Poverty is the killer, it seems obvious, it impacts on every aspect of your life. BAME groups are over represented in low income groups. The media seem to be avoiding saying this.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SheffieldJane]

Yes, but as I pointed out somewhere else, the high proportion of BAME NHS workers who have died doesn't fit that, lots are doctors. What it does fit with is the living in extended or close multi-generational family units so it spreads quickly, as it did in northern Italy, and with the high incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in BAME persons.

[GOOD_GRIEF in reply to PMRpro]

Sorry, what does BAME stand for?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to GOOD_GRIEF]

Black, Asian and minority ethnicities

[GOOD_GRIEF in reply to GOOD_GRIEF]

Thx.

[SheffieldJane in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, after I made that rash remark, I researched a bit more. We don’t really know but multigenerational families living in one home seems to be risky. Over 50% of Swedes live alone, their cases seem to be under control.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SheffieldJane]

That is where school closure achieves a lot - kids may not be ill and at high risk but they spread things like wildfire, taking it home unnoticed and infecting the rest of the family. It is thought there may have been a massive outbreak around Brighton (I think) where a lot of children in one school had a viral infection with cough - very early so not recognised and tested but very possibly CV.

Here a major problem has been that children are very often looked after after school by grandparents who feed them and the parents lunch and then the parents go back to work. The government here has actually specified that grandparents are not to be visited - and they closed down access to the care homes too but too late. But even here, a relatively wealthy, rural area, we really aren't crammed together, you see clumps of new quarantined groups which are almost certainly extended families in a multi-appartment house. The towns are where the bigger outbreaks are and it is obvious.

[SheffieldJane in reply to PMRpro]

Statistically though. Gosh it’s heartbreaking.

[SheffieldJane in reply to PMRpro]

Statistically though, overall.

[Agoodlife in reply to SheffieldJane]

More a question how well your immune system works. If you have dark skin it’s even harder to have optimal levels of vit.D.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Had you taken the time to read the links I gave in the post, you would have found there was a summary of the evidence about the role of vit D in infections etc with links to respected and sound journals as sources. As you so rightly say - there is not yet strong evidence of its role in such a new virus which may not behave the same as others, not least because it is not an influenza but a corona virus. What is available is mainly non peer-reviewed observational work which is notoriously unreliable - and, as is well known, correlation is not causation.

Here ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

they conclude:

"Rigorous study design will be key in achieving clinical confirmation of hypotheses derived at the bench, in preclinical studies, or in animal models of vitamin D deficiency and will help delineate necessary changes in clinical practice and medical care of patients with vitamin D deficiency."

[Hidden]

Can I ask again. Do you have PMR or GCA??

[Mojo63]

This is how i get my vit.D it does help. After 27 years of taking a holiday in the winter sun starting at 2 week while working, 7 weeks in retirement. But i have found since 60 not being able to sit in sun. Now 11 years later.....

I fractured vb2&3 about 4 half years ago. They started me on Denosumab

Injections every 6moths with one

Tablet a day of Colecalciferol.

Which have help my bone structure.

Does anybody else have this treatment.

When i heard this Doctor mention Vit.

D i thought i am doing something right.

I suffered with GCA , & all the things that go with it since 2011.

Take everyone stay saff.

#12weeklockdownforme😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mojo63]

Everyone who is on pred should be advised to increase their calcium intake and take vit D. For most it is a combined supplement - but even so the vit D content is only 800 IU a day and really 1,000 IU is the minimum we need, 2,000 is better.

[Pippah45]

Isn't this about being as healthy as we can be with whatever underlying health problems we might have? Many people are Vitamin D deficient - myself included as are many others who suffer from Hypothyroidism. My daughter is a gardener in Devon - and is out in gardens in skimpy clothes all summer long but she is still Vit D deficient. I am not for one moment suggesting that Vit D is a cure all but decent levels of it do help immunity. Personally I am supplementing with Vit D (have done for some years) and Vitamin C. I also eat garlic regularly and at the moment I am actually craving it (living alone means it doesn't matter a jot if my breath smells - the dogs don't seem to mind!) No one seems to know what works and what doesn't work - so anything that helps us feel better is worth trying WITHOUT forgetting all reasonable distancing and so on

[alvertta]

My rheumatologist wants me to take vitamin D because of the prednisone. Nothing to do w Covid.