Open AccessAssociation Between Vitamin D Levels and Inflammatory Markers in COVID-19 Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Author(s) -
Robert Hopefl,
Mohamed BenEltriki,
Subrata Deb
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1482-1826
DOI - 10.18433/jpps32518
Subject(s) - medicine , ferritin , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , meta analysis , procalcitonin , confidence interval , gastroenterology , vitamin d and neurology , observational study , c reactive protein , fibrinogen , inflammation , sepsis
Purpose: Vitamin D has immunomodulatory properties that can be useful in COVID-19 patients. We performed a meta-analysis of observational studies to analyze the association of vitamin D levels with the inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and ClinicalTrial.gov for any relevant studies with comparison data reporting vitamin D levels and inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. A literature search was conducted from December 1, 2019, to January 14, 2022. Vitamin D deficiency was defined by each individual study and ranged from 30ng/mL) had statistically significant lower levels of IL-6, CRP, ferritin, LDH, fibrinogen, and D-dimer compared to vitamin D deficient group. With the highest mean difference found in ferritin (95.62; 95% CI, 33.14-158.10); P=0.003; I2=99%). No significant reductions were found in ESR (P=0.97). All inflammatory markers analyzed were higher than the normal healthy reference ranges in both groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased inflammatory marker levels. Vitamin D deficiency may potentially serve as an early identifier for COVID-19 patients at high risk of developing severe inflammatory conditions as well as thrombotic complications. Randomized controlled trials should be conducted to establish a causal relationship.