Vitamin D and survival in COVID-19 patients: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Vitamin D may be a central biological determinant of COVID-19 outcomes. The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to determine whether bolus vitamin D3 supplementation taken during or just before COVID-19 was effective in improving survival among frail elderly nursing-home residents with COVID-19. Sixty-six residents with COVID-19 from a French nursing-home were included in this quasi-experimental study. The “Intervention group” was defined as those having received bolus vitamin D3 supplementation during COVID-19 or in the preceding month, and the “Comparator group” corresponded to all other participants. The primary and secondary outcomes were COVID-19 mortality and Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement (OSCI) score in acute phase, respectively. Age, gender, number of drugs daily taken, functional abilities, albuminemia, use of corticosteroids and/or hydroxychloroquine and/or antibiotics (i.e., azithromycin or rovamycin), and hospitalization for COVID-19 were used as potential confounders. The Intervention (n = 57; mean ± SD, 87.7 ± 9.3years; 79 %women) and Comparator (n = 9; mean, 87.4 ± 7.2years; 67 %women) groups were comparable at baseline, as were the COVID-19 severity and the use of dedicated COVID-19 drugs. The mean follow-up time was 36 ± 17 days. 82.5 % of participants in the Intervention group survived COVID-19, compared to only 44.4 % in the Comparator group (P = 0.023). The full-adjusted hazard ratio for mortality according to vitamin D3 supplementation was HR = 0.11 [95 %CI:0.03;0.48], P = 0.003. Kaplan-Meier distributions showed that Intervention group had longer survival time than Comparator group (log-rank P = 0.002). Finally, vitamin D3 supplementation was inversely associated with OSCI score for COVID-19 (β=-3.84 [95 %CI:-6.07;-1.62], P = 0.001). In conclusion, bolus vitamin D3 supplementation during or just before COVID-19 was associated in frail elderly with less severe COVID-19 and better survival rate.