SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Immunology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1559471
This article is part of the Research TopicCommunity Series in : The Role of Vitamin D as an Immunomodulator - Volume IIView all 11 articles
Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on COVID-19 Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews Author names and affiliations
Provisionally accepted- 1Uzhhorod National University, Uzhhorod, Ukraine
- 2Ternopil State Medical University, Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine
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Vitamin D is suggested as a supportive therapy to reduce the severity of COVID-19 due to its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. However, its effect on critical outcomes, such as ICU admissions and mortality, shows significant variation across randomized clinical trials and metaanalyses.To summarise the influence of vitamin D supplementation on ICU admissions and mortality among COVID-19 patients.Overall, 21 eligible studies were retrieved using a comprehensive search from Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. A citation matrix was developed, revealing a Corrected Covered Area (CCA) of 0.54, indicating moderate overlap. Fixed-effects models were applied to data with low heterogeneity (ICU admissions: Q = 10.87, P = 0.33), while random-effects models were used for mortality outcomes (Q = 27.23, P = 0.006). Pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) quantified the overall effects.Vitamin D supplementation was associated with a significant 38% reduction in ICU admissions (OR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.54-0.71) and a 33% reduction in mortality risk (OR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.56-0.79).The benefit was pronounced in vitamin D-deficient populations, although heterogeneity in mortality outcomes highlighted variability across studiesWhile these findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation may help reduce ICU admissions and mortality among COVID-19 patients-particularly in those with vitamin D deficiency-the results should be interpreted with caution. The observed variability and potential confounding factors underscore the need for further large-scale, randomized controlled trials with standardized dosing protocols before definitive clinical recommendations can be made.
Keywords: COVID-19, Vitamin D supplementation, mechanical ventilation, Hospital stay, clinical outcomes, Immune Modulation, randomized controlled trials
Received: 12 Jan 2025; Accepted: 14 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Petakh, Kamyshna, Halabitska and Kamyshnyi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pavlo Petakh, Uzhhorod National University, Uzhhorod, Ukraine
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