Professor Roger Seheult, MD explains the important role Vitamin D may have in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Seheult illustrates how Vitamin D works, summarizes the best available data and clinical trials on vitamin D, and discusses vitamin D dosage recommendations.
Roger Seheult, MD is the co-founder and lead professor at https://www.medcram.com
He is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and Assistant Prof. at Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Dr. Seheult is Quadruple Board Certified: Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
00:01:25 – Vitamin D is not only a vitamin, it is also a hormone that affects gene transcription.
00:03:53 – The difference between a vitamin and a hormone.
00:04:27 – Sources and metabolism of vitamin D https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7679797/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327816878_Vitamin_D_and_Vitamin_D_Deficiency_in_Ireland_-_A_Call_to_Action
00:07:30 – High fructose corn syrup increases the conversion of active-1,25-Vitamin D to the inactive-1,24,25-Vitamin D. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23571713/
00:07:51 – A major cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate exposure to sunlight. Americans only spend on average 7% of the day outside. https://www.nature.com/articles/7500165
00:08:56 – Why the protective effect of vitamin D for respiratory infections is likely not due to confounding factors.
00:10:03 – The incidence of influenza is highest during months when vitamin D levels are lowest. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870528/
00:10:16 – Vitamin D levels are lower in those with higher BMI and renal disease. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10966885/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15951480/
00:10:35 – Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased risk of infections. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960076006004304 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870528/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15321847/
00:11:51 – Defining vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and optimal blood levels.
00:13:20 – Aging decreases the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2997282/
00:13:46 – People of with darker skin have lower levels of vitamin D. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20848081/
00:15:29 – Vitamin D supplementation promotes bone health and cardiovascular health, although dosing is still unclear. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4600954/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21505219/
00:16:19 – Epidemiological data shows that vitamin D levels are inversely associated with respiratory infection mortality. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468980/
00:18:25 – A systematic review and meta-analysis shows that vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of respiratory tract infections. https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i6583
00:20:40 – “Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20219962/
00:22:01 – Similarities between COVID-19 and Vitamin D deficiency.
00:22:56 – Vitamin D deficiency mirrors other viral infections.
00:23:30 – Autopsies of patients with COVID-19 show a 9-fold increase in lung blood clots. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2015432
00:23:50 – People who are more likely to be vitamin D deficient also are more likely to die from COVID-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2521-4
00:25:14 – Does smoking decrease the risk of COVID-19 mortality?
00:26:52 – COVID-19 mortality risk increases with higher latitudes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32311755/
00:28:18 – Countries with higher overall vitamin D levels have lower COVID-19 infection rates and mortality rates. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7202265/
00:29:37 – A positive COVID-19 tests is associated with a lower vitamin D status. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32397511/
00:30:30 – Vitamin D levels modestly drop when the immune system is activated. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33217408/
00:31:11 – Those with lower vitamin D levels had increased risk of contracting COVID-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7404739/ https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.04.20188268v1.full.pdf https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239252
00:37:33 – Is vitamin D a proxy for good health or a determinant of good health?
00:38:58 – Of those who are infected with COVID-19, lower vitamin D levels are associated with worse symptoms. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456620/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32927735/
00:41:07 – A prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized trial showed that taking vitamin D early in hospitalization significantly decreased the risk of requiring ICU level of care. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/
00:43:45 – Elderly individuals in France who supplemented with 80,000IU of vitamin D within the previous month had a higher survival rate than those who supplemented over a month ago. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096007602030296X
00:44:41 – Vitamin D did not improve mortality or symptom severity of hospitalized COVID-19 patients when given late and in a single, large dose. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.16.20232397v1
00:46:18 – 60,000 IU of daily vitamin D for a week in COVID-19 patients increased the likelihood of testing negative by day 21. https://pmj.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/12/postgradmedj-2020-139065
00:47:20 – In those with COVID-19, having serum vitamin D levels <20 ng/mL was associated with significantly higher mortality and higher inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNFalpha, ferritin). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-77093-z
00:49:11 – Vitamin D fortification and supplementation practices vary by country. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30096919/ https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/96/7/1911/2833671
00:51:47 – Vitamin D is one of the safest fat soluble vitamins and toxicity is extremely rare https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6158375/
00:54:19 – Bioavailability of vitamin D is high for low doses and plateaus out as dose increases. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25372709/
00:57:58 – Concluding thoughts.
Professor Roger Seheult, MD explains the important role Vitamin D may have in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Seheult illustrates how Vitamin D works, summarizes the best available data and clinical trials on vitamin D, and discusses vitamin D dosage recommendations.
Roger Seheult, MD is the co-founder and lead professor at https://www.medcram.com
He is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and Assistant Prof. at Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Dr. Seheult is Quadruple Board Certified: Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
Interviewer: Kyle Allred, Producer and Co-Founder of MedCram.com
REFERENCES:
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Aging decreases the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3 (The J. of Clin. Invest.) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2997282/
Racial differences in the relationship between vitamin D… (Osteoporosis Int.) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti…
Decreased bioavailability of vitamin D in obesity (The American J of Clin. Nutrition) | https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article…
Vitamin D Insufficiency and Deficiency and Mortality from Respiratory Diseases … (Nutrients) | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/8/2488
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Vitamin D Fortification of Fluid Milk … A Review (Nutrients) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti…
Analysis of vitamin D level among asymptomatic and critically ill COVID-19 patients… (Scientific Reports from the Journal Nature) | https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159…
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