Trial reportClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2013
Vitamin D3 supplementation and upper respiratory tract infections in a randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of stratified aggregate data.The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Optimal methods of vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory infections: a systematic review, dose-response and pairwise meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrition journal · 2024Pooled it
- Vitamin D supplementation for prevention of acute respiratory infections in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Select Dietary Supplement Ingredients for Preserving and Protecting the Immune System in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplements in Prevention of Acute Respiratory Infection: A Meta-Analysis for Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Association Between Vitamin D and Influenza: Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of micronutrient supplements on influenza and other respiratory tract infections among adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Zinc Supplementation Reduces Common Cold Duration among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials with Micronutrients Supplementation.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Pooled it
- Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Vitamin D supplementation for prevention of cancer in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Trial
- Vitamin D3 and gargling for the prevention of upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial.BMC infectious diseases · 2014Trial
- Comparative effectiveness of oral nutritional supplements in preventing respiratory tract infections among adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Immunomodulatory role of vitamin D and emerging immunotherapies in hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3): efficacy, safety, and implications in public health.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- The Role of Some Vitamins in Respiratory-related Viral Infections: A Narrative Review.Clinical nutrition research · 2023Review
- Effect ofClinical nutrition research · 2021Article
- Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency Among University Students: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and the Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Episodes of Respiratory Tract Infections.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
- Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of aggregate data from randomised controlled trials.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRandomized controlled trials testing the association between vitamin D status and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) have given mixed results. During a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of colorectal adenoma chemoprevention, we tested whether 1000 IU/day vitamin D(3) supplementation reduced winter episodes and duration of URTI and its composite syndromes, influenza-like illness (ILI; fever and ≥2 of sore throat, cough, muscle ache, or headache) and colds (no fever, and ≥2 of runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, sore throat, cough, swollen or tender neck glands).
methodsThe 2259 trial participants were aged 45-75, in good health, had a history of colorectal adenoma, and had a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level ≥12 ng/mL. They were randomized to vitamin D(3) (1000 IU/day), calcium (1200 mg/day), both, or placebo. Of these, 759 participants completed daily symptom diaries. Secondary data included semiannual surveys of all participants.
resultsAmong those who completed symptom diaries, supplementation did not significantly reduce winter episodes of URTI (rate ratio [RR], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], .79-1.09) including colds (RR, 0.93; 95% CI, .78-1.10) or ILI (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, .62-1.46), nor did it reduce winter days of illness (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, .90-1.43). There was no significant benefit according to adherence, influenza vaccination, body mass index, or baseline vitamin D status. Semiannual surveys of all participants (N = 2228) identified no benefit of supplementation on ILI (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% CI, .84-1.54) or colds (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, .87-1.23).
conclusionsSupplementation with 1000 IU/day vitamin D(3) did not significantly reduce the incidence or duration of URTI in adults with a baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level ≥12 ng/mL.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.