People with vitamin D deficiency could be more likely to die from coronavirus, a study has suggested.
As the UK continues following strict lockdown measures – which include restrictions on time outdoors – research has shown that a vitamin usually procured from natural sunlight could help boost Covid-19 survival rates.
In the study, scientists from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia write: “We believe, that we can advise Vitamin D supplementation to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection.”
The paper, published on Research Square, states that vitamin D levels are found to be severely low in the ageing population, especially in Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
This is also the group most vulnerable for Covid-19.
It reads: "Severe deficiency is defined as a serum 25(OH)D lower than 30nmol/L. In Switzerland, mean vitamin D levels are 23(nmol/L) in nursing homes and in Italy 76% of women over 70 years of age have been found to have circulating levels below 30nmol/L.
"These are countries with high number of cases of COVID–19 and the aging people is the group with the highest risk for morbidity and mortality with SARS-Cov2.
"The research has not yet been peer-reviewed by other scientists and only offers up tentative evidence at this point."
The authors of the paper also acknowledge: “The number of cases/country is affected by the number of tests performed.”
Currently the NHS website recommends people consider taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day.
It adds: “This is because you may not be getting enough vitamin D from sunlight if you’re indoors most of the day.”
But while the NHS acknowledges emerging reports of vitamin D reducing the risk of coronavirus, it states that currently there is no evidence that this is the case.
It also warns people to refrain from buying more vitamin D than they need.
Last week, Dr Rachel Neale said that 10 minutes of sunshine a day could trigger the production of Vitamin D and potentially help reduce the risk of coronavirus, as she has found it does with other respiratory infections.
Dr Neale, a researcher at Brisbane’s QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, says it would "make sense" if having low levels of vitamin D left people more vulnerable to worse symptoms of coronavirus.
However, she added that research was needed to confirm whether or not this is the case.
