Lower serum 25(OH)D levels associated with higher risk of COVID-19 infection in U.S. Black women
PLoS One . 2021 Jul 27;16(7):e0255132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255132
Yvette C Cozier 1 yvettec at bu.edu, Nelsy Castro-Webb 1, Natasha S Hochberg 2 3, Lynn Rosenberg 1, Michelle A Albert 4, Julie R Palmer 1
for 1,974 US black women who had vitamin D blood tests taken 3-7 years before COVID-19
<20 ng vs >30 ng
Odd Ratio adjusted for age, body mass index, geographic region, neighborhood SES score, years of education, cigarette smoking, season of blood draw, household size, and working conditions during the pandemic
Low Vitamin D AND Obese
Items in both categories Virus and Dark Skin:
- Lower Magnesium, 6 percent more COVID - Feb 2022
- “Black Patients Matter”: US Blacks 2X more likely to die of COVID-19 than whites – Sept 29, 2021
- Virus and Dark Skin - many studies
- US coalition of Black and Latino churches hope to reduce the 3X COVID-19 disparity - Aug 2021
- COVID-19 mortality for Blacks is 5X that for whites in 2 LA Hospitals - July 2021
- Low vitamin D associated with increased COVID-19 risk (in this case black women 1.7X) – July 2021
- COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the US, especially in those with dark skins - April 1, 2021
- Prefer 40 – 60 ng of Vitamin D to minimize COVID-19 – March 17, 2021
- 26 health factors increase the risk of COVID-19 – all are proxies for low vitamin D
- Those with recent cancer diagnosis had 7X increased risk of COVID-19 (more if A-A )- Dec 2020
- Healthcare workers at higher risk of COVID-19 if low vitamin D, especially if dark skin – Dec 2020
- Shift workers 2X more likely to get COVID-19 (low Vitamin D) - Dec 2020
- COVID-19 was killing dark-skinned doctors, then they got a Vitamin D recommendation
- COVID-19 antibodies 2.6 X more likely if had symptoms and low vitamin D (UK hospital staff)– Oct 5 2020
- Vitamin D could knock out COVID-19 in 3 months – Dr. Matthews interview Oct 2020
- Rate of COVID-19 test positive is 40 pcnt lower if high vitamin D (192,000 people) - Holick Sept 2020
- COVID-19 increased 3.5 X if Ultra-Orthodox (cloth) Sept, 2020
- COVID-19 is harder for those with dark skins - perhaps due to low vitamin D – April 24, 2020
- COVID-19 more frequent and deadly for those with dark skins (high risk of low vitamin D)
- Indications of increase COVID-19 problems if dark skin in the UK- April 3 2020
COVID-19 treated by Vitamin D - studies, reports, videos
- As of March 31, 2024, the VitaminDWiki COVID page had: trial results, meta-analyses and reviews, Mortality studies see related: Governments, HealthProblems, Hospitals, Dark Skins, All 26 COVID risk factors are associated with low Vit D, Fight COVID-19 with 50K Vit D weekly Vaccines Take lots of Vitamin D at first signs of COVID 166 COVID Clinical Trials using Vitamin D (Aug 2023) Prevent a COVID death: 9 dollars of Vitamin D or 900,000 dollars of vaccine - Aug 2023
5 most-recently changed Virus entries
News Reports on this study
- Vitamin D May Lower Black Women's Odds for COVID-19 US News July 28
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Objective: Limited evidence suggests that higher levels of serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) protect against SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) infection. Black women commonly experience 25(OH)D insufficiency and are overrepresented among COVID-19 cases. We conducted a prospective analysis of serum 25(OH)D levels in relation to COVID-19 infection among participants in the Black Women's Health Study.
Methods: Since 1995, the Black Women's Health Study has followed 59,000 U.S. Black women through biennial mailed or online questionnaires. Over 13,000 study participants provided a blood sample in 2013-2017. 25(OH)D assays were performed in a certified national laboratory shortly after collection of the samples. In 2020, participants who had completed the online version of the 2019 biennial health questionnaire were invited to complete a supplemental online questionnaire assessing their experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether they had been tested for COVID-19 infection and the result of the test. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of 25(OH)D level with COVID-19 positivity, adjusting for age, number of people living in the household, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and other potential confounders.
Results: Among 5,081 eligible participants whose blood sample had been assayed for 25(OH)D, 1,974 reported having had a COVID-19 test in 2020. Relative to women with 25(OH)D levels of 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/l) or more, multivariable-adjusted ORs for COVID-19 infection in women with levels of 20-29 ng/mL (50-72.5 nmol/l) and <20 ng/mL (<50 nmol/l) were, respectively, 1.48 (95% CI 0.95-2.30) and 1.69 (95% CI 1.04-2.72) (p trend 0.02).
Conclusion: The present results suggest that U.S. Black women with lower levels of 25(OH)D are at increased risk of infection with COVID-19. Further work is needed to confirm these findings and determine the optimal level of 25(OH)D for a beneficial effect.