—Higher blood levels of vitamin D correlated with lower incidence or severity of COVID-19 in most but not all reviews of the research—
NOVEMBER 3, 2021
WASHINGTON—The CRN Foundation, via its Vitamin D & Me! education initiative, today applauded new research conducted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that demonstrates significant links between vitamin D and COVID-19. Multiple analyses have revealed that higher blood levels of vitamin D appear to be correlated with lower incidence or severity of COVID-19 in most but not all reviews of the research.
“Increasing evidence suggests a link between higher vitamin D levels and lower incidence of COVID-19,” said Luke Huber, ND, MBA, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). “We have known for years that vitamin D plays an important role in immune health, and now there are multiple meta-analyses that appear to demonstrate the benefits of this nutrient in COVID-19.”
Thirteen recent meta-analyses, generated from more than 100 clinical trials published since the onset of the pandemic, have examined vitamin D and COVID-19. Most of the meta-analyses examined blood levels of vitamin D and COVID-19 while two exclusively examined vitamin D consumption in relationship to the illness. Meta-analyses are statistical reviews of data from multiple independent studies that address highly similar and succinct research questions to observe overall effects.
Most of the reviews found higher blood levels of vitamin D appear to be correlated with lower incidence of COVID-19. Several, but not all meta-analyses found greater severity of and mortality from COVID-19 were associated with lower vitamin D levels. One meta-analysis found reduced mortality with vitamin D intervention following COVID-19 diagnosis, while a smaller meta-analysis did not see a statistically significant relationship. Timing and dosage of the interventions may have played a role in the differing results. Summaries of these meta-analyses and links to the research are available on the Vitamin D & Me! website.
“Consumers need science-based evidence to make informed health decisions,” said Brian Wommack, executive director of the CRN Foundation. “We hope consumers use these findings to better understand how nutrients like vitamin D support their goal of living a healthy lifestyle.”
“This growing body of research does not indicate that Vitamin D is a substitute for vaccines, mask wearing, social distancing, or other behaviors to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus,” said Dr. Huber, “but the data does suggest that vitamin D levels may play a role, in combination with other therapies, in strengthening the immune system to resist the virus.”
Vitamin D & Me! provides a space for consumers to explore the collective research on this topic, to educate themselves on the emerging data, and to hear directly from the researchers involved. It shares research, expert video interviews, news, and education in a user-friendly format, with a particular focus on U.S. consumers ages 55+. The initiative has tracked and reported the latest research on the link between vitamin D and COVID-19 since May 2021 and has already attracted over 160,000 users to learn more about the science connecting Vitamin D and COVID-19.
The complete set of meta-analyses are available here.
About the CRN Foundation
The CRN Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation that provides consumers with information about responsible use of dietary supplements and provides researchers and healthcare practitioners with education on the proper role of supplements in a healthy lifestyle. Managed by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the CRN Foundation was created in 2009 to enhance and sustain consumer confidence in dietary supplements.
About the Council for Responsible Nutrition
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 180+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements and LinkedIn.