Vitamin D protects against respiratory infections and could also help against COVID-19, researchers who have compared several studies in the field say.
The meta-study is the largest compilation of studies to date of respiratory infections and vitamin D, Swedish TV 4 reports.
The researchers have reviewed 43 studies with a total of 49,000 participants, in addition to conducting their own research.
“All in all, we see a protective effect of around 10%, but if you look at certain subgroups, the protection is as great as 40%,” doctor and researcher Peter Bergman at the Karolinska Institutet, a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden, told TV 4.
It has not been studied whether vitamin D protects against COVID-19 specifically. Previously, researchers have pointed out that there seems to be more vitamin D deficiency among those who have died of COVID-19 than in the general population.
Overweight, the elderly, people with dark skin, pregnant women, and people who are indoors a lot have a greater risk of getting vitamin D deficiency and should make sure to get the vitamin, Bergman believes.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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