New research (read below) from Trinity College Dublin and University of Edinburgh has examined the association between vitamin D and COVID-19, and found that ambient ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation (which is key for vitamin D production in the skin) at an individual’s place of residence in the weeks before COVID-19 infection, was strongly protective against severe disease and death. The paper (read below) was published in the journal Scientific Reports September 14, 2021.
Previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with an increased susceptibility to viral and bacterial respiratory infections.
Similarly, several observational studies found a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19, but it could be that these effects are confounded and in fact a result of other factors, such as obesity, older age, or chronic illness which are also linked with low vitamin D.
To overcome this, researchers were able to calculate “genetically-predicted” vitamin D level...