Association between vitamin D status and risk of covid-19 in-hospital mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

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Association between vitamin D status and risk of covid-19 in-hospital mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Ebrahimzadeh et al., 2023 | Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr | Meta Analysis

Citation

Ebrahimzadeh Armin, Mohseni Shokouh, ... Milajerdi Alireza. Association between vitamin D status and risk of covid-19 in-hospital mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2023;63(21):5033-5043. doi:10.1080/10408398.2021.2012419

Abstract

Some earlier studies reported higher risk of COVID-19 mortality in patients with vitamin D deficiency, while some others failed to find such as association. Due to inconsistences between earlier meta-analyses and needs for an updated study, we conducted current systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between vitamin D status and risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality among observational studies. We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science up to 27 July 2021. We conduct our systematic review and meta-analysis in according to PRISM statement. Two authors independently screened studies and extracted data from the relevant ones. All types of observational studies about the association between vitamin D status and in hospital COVID-19 mortality were included. Data was pooled using a random-effect model. P-values ˂ 0.05 was assumed as statistically significant. We identified 13 observational studies. Pooling 9 studies which categorized vitamin D level, a significant positive relationship was found between vitamin D deficiency and risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.11; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.03, 4.32). All subgroup analyses also showed significant relationship between vitamin D deficiency and risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality. In the other analysis, pooling data from 5 studies in which vitamin D level was entered as a continues variable, we found an inverse significant association between each unit increment in serum vitamin D concentrations and risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.99). We found a significant direct association between vitamin D deficiency and elevated risk of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality. Moreover, each unit increment in serum vitamin D levels was associated to significant reduction in risk of COVID-19 mortality. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Key Findings

Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population vitamin d deficiency
Sample Size 9
Age Range See abstract
Condition deficiency

MeSH Terms

  • Humans
  • Vitamin D
  • Hospital Mortality
  • COVID-19
  • Vitamins
  • Vitamin D Deficiency

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review, Journal Article
  • Vertical: vitamin-d-mortality

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09