Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34262557›Full record

Trial reportFrontiers in immunology2021

Low-Dose Vitamin D

Wakunyambo Maboshe, Helen M Macdonald, Heather Wassall, William D Fraser, Jonathan C Y Tang, Shona Fielding, Robert N Barker, Mark A Vickers, Anthony Ormerod, Frank Thies

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Frontiers in immunology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Vitamin DFrontiers in nutrition · 2025
    Article
  8. Seasonal variation in sunlight exposure is differently associated with changes in T regulatory and T-helper 17 cell blood counts in adolescent and adults females: a pilot study.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2025
    Article
  9. The effects of exposure to solar radiation on human health.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2023
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Wakunyambo MabosheSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Helen M MacdonaldSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Heather WassallSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
William D FraserNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Jonathan C Y TangNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Shona FieldingSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Robert N BarkerSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Mark A VickersSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Anthony OrmerodSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Frank ThiesSchool of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
University of Aberdeen · GBUniversity of East Anglia · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust 094847/Z/10/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Seasonal variations have been reported for immune markers. However, the relative contributions of sunlight and vitamin D variability on such seasonal changes are unknown. Objective: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial tested whether daily 400 IU vitamin D Design: 62 subjects were randomized equally to vitamin D versus placebo in March and assessed at baseline, April (4w), June (12w), September (25w) and January (43w). Circulating nTregs, Results: Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) increased from 35.8(SD 3.0) to 65.3(2.6) nmol/L in April and remained above 75 nmol/L with vitamin D supplementation, whereas it increased from 36.4(3.2) to 49.8(3.5) nmol/L in June to fall back to 39.6(3.5) nmol/L in January with placebo. Immune markers varied similarly between groups according to the season, but independently of 25(OH)D. For nTregs, the mean (%CD3 Conclusions: Daily low dose Vitamin D intake did not affect the nTregs population. There were seasonal variation in nTregs, proliferative response and cytokines, suggesting that environmental changes influence immune response, but the mechanism seems independent of vitamin D status. Vitamin D attenuated the seasonal change in T cell-produced IFN-γ, suggesting a decrease in effector response which could be associated with inflammation. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.isrctn.com, identifier (ISRCTN 73114576).

Indexed as

SeasonsAdultCell ProliferationCholecalciferolDietary SupplementsDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansInflammationInterferon-gammaInterleukin-10MaleMiddle AgedSunlightT-Lymphocytes, RegulatoryCholecalciferolIL10 protein, humanInterferon-gammaInterleukin-10healthy subjectsimmune markersinterferon-gammarandomized control trialseasonalityT regulatory cellsvitamin D

Identifiers

PMID34262557
PMCPMC8275124
OpenAlexW3170457860

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.