McGill University
While previous research early in the pandemic suggested that the vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting COVID-19, a new study from McGill University finds there is no genetic evidence that the vitamin works as a protective measure against the coronavirus.
“Vitamin D supplementation as a public health measure to improve outcomes is not supported by this study. Most importantly, our results suggest that investment in other therapeutic or preventative avenues should be prioritized for COVID-19 randomized clinical trials,” say the authors.
To assess the relationship between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, the researchers conducted a Mendelian randomization study using genetic variants strongly associated with increased vitamin D levels. They looked at genetic variants of 14,134 individuals with COVID-19 and over 1.2 million individuals without the disease from 11 countries.
While previous research early in the pandemic suggested that vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting COVID-19, a new study from McGill University finds there is no genetic evidence that the vitamin works as a protective measure against the coronavirus.
Research Article
Vitamin D and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity in the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative: A Mendelian randomization study
Guillaume Butler-Laporte , Contributed equally to this work with: Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Tomoko Nakanishi Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Affiliations Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada Contributed equally to this work with: Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Tomoko Nakanishi Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writi
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Observational studies have suggested that increased vitamin D levels may protect against COVID-19. However, these studies were inconclusive and possibly subject to confounding. A study published in
PLOS Medicine by Guillaume Butler-Laporte and Tomoko Nakanishi at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, and colleagues suggests that genetic evidence does not support vitamin D as a protective measure against COVID-19.
The ability of vitamin D to protect against severe COVID-19 illness is of great interest to public health experts, but has limited supporting evidence. To assess the relationship between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, researchers conducted a Mendelian randomization study using genetic variants strongly associated with increased vitamin D levels. The authors analyzed genetic variants of 4,134 individuals with COVID-19, and 1,284,876 without COVID-19, from 11 countries to determine whether genetic predisposition for higher vitamin D leve
Shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 severity and other health conditions
Researchers in the United States have identified a shared genetic architecture between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and other health conditions.
Using electronic health record data and genomic data from Veteran Affairs (VA), the Million Veteran Program (MVP), and the United Kingdom Biobank (UKBB), the team identified conditions associated with risk factors for severe COVID-19.
The study found that phenotypes associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes such as thrombotic complications also shared genetic variants associated with severe COVID-19.
Among respiratory conditions, only idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and asthma shared genetic risk factors with severe disease, with no association observed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.