OBJECTIVE: . Despite hypovitaminosis D appears to be highly prevalent in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), its impact on their prognosis remains unclear. RESEARCH METHODS & PROCEDURES: . In this study serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (Vit-D) level was measured in 200 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The association between Vit-D and the composite endpoint of intensive care unit (ICU) admission/in-hospital death was explored using univariable and multivariable analyses. Also, serum Vit-D level in COVID-19 patients was compared with that in age- and sex-balanced COVID-19 negative controls (i.e. 50 inpatients with sepsis). RESULTS: . Serum Vit-D level was comparable between COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 negative inpatients with sepsis (p = 0.397). No significant differences were found in serum Vit-D level according to COVID-19 severity at hospital admission (p = 0.299). Incidence rates of the composite endpoint of ICU admission/in-hospital death did not differ significantly between patients with either Vit-D deficiency (i.e. Vit-D <20 ng/mL) or severe Vit-D deficiency (i.e. Vit-D <12 ng/mL) and those without (31% versus 35% with p = 0.649 and 34% versus 30% with p = 0.593, respectively). Vit-D level and status (i.e. Vit-D deficiency and severe Vit-D deficiency) were not prospectively associated with the risk of the composite endpoint of ICU admission/in-hospital death (p > 0.05 for all Cox regression models). CONCLUSIONS: . Irrespective of the potential usefulness of Vit-D measurement for guiding appropriate supplementation, Vit-D does not appear to provide helpful information for the stratification of in-hospital prognosis in patients with COVID-19.
Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its prognostic impact in hospitalized patients with COVID-19