SynthesisInternational journal of clinical practice2021
Insufficient evidence for vitamin D use in COVID-19: A rapid systematic review.
Synthesis in International journal of clinical practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 4 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.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of the vitamin D supplementation on clinical outcomes and inflammatory status in COVID-19 patients: an umbrella review.BMC nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of macronutrient and micronutrient supplements on COVID-19: an umbrella review.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Insufficient evidence for vitamin D use in COVID-19: A rapid systematic review.International journal of clinical practice · 2021Pooled it
- The role of vitamin D in prevention OF COVID-19 and its severity: an umbrella review.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2021Pooled it
- Vitamin D Supplementation and Clinical Outcomes in Severe COVID-19 Patients-Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Changes in the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in individuals with severe COVID-19 treated with high dose of vitamin D.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2022Trial
- Vitamin D Status and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Reinfections in the Borriana COVID-19 Cohort: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Vitamin D Supplementation in Critically Ill-Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Effect of Single High Dose Vitamin D Substitution in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients with Vitamin D Deficiency on Length of Hospital Stay.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- The Role of Diet and Specific Nutrients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Have We Learned over the Last Three Years?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Susceptibility to COVID-19 Nutrition Misinformation and Eating Behavior Change during Lockdowns: An International Web-Based Survey.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Impaired Vitamin D Metabolism in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Comparison of the cardiovascular system, clinical condition, and laboratory results in COVID-19 patients with and without vitamin D insufficiency.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Therapeutic Vitamin D Supplementation Following COVID-19 Diagnosis: Where Do We Stand?-A Systematic Review.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Review
- Article
- Beneficial Effect of Short-Term Supplementation of High Dose of Vitamin DFrontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Association of Recent and Long-Term Supplement Intakes With Laboratory Indices in Patients With COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran, During 2020.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- The Interaction of Vitamin D and Corticosteroids: A Mortality Analysis of 26,508 Veterans Who Tested Positive for SARS-CoV-2.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Putative Role of Vitamin D for COVID-19 Vaccination.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVitamin D deficiency has been linked to the increased severity of numerous viral infections.
objectiveTo assess whether vitamin D supplementation is safe and effective for the treatment of COVID-19.
methodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, LILACS and LOVE for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published up to 2 March evaluating the effects of vitamin D for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Two authors selected the studies and analysed the data evidence following Cochrane Recommendations.
resultsWe included three RCTs with a total of 385 participants. We found low certainty evidence indicating that hospitalised patients under calcifediol plus standard care (SC) treatment seem to present a significantly lower risk of being admitted to ICU but no difference in mortality. We found low to very low certainty evidence that the improvement in fibrinogen levels is slightly greater in mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 that used cholecalciferol plus SC than in those treated with placebo plus SC (mean difference), and the patients who used cholecalciferol plus SC achieved more SARS-CoV-2 negativity, but not on d-dimer, c-reactive protein (CRP) or procalcitonin compared with the patients in the placebo plus SC group. We also found low to moderate certainty evidence that a single high dose of vitamin D does not seem to be effective for reducing mortality, length of hospital stay, ICU admissions and d-dimer or CRP levels when used in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.
conclusionsAs a practical implication, the use of vitamin D associated with SC seems to provide some benefit to patients with COVID-19. However, the evidence is currently insufficient to support the routine use of vitamin D for the management of COVID-19, as its effectiveness seems to depend on the dosage, on the baseline vitamin D levels, and on the degree of COVID-19 severity.
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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.