Prevalence of Diminished Vitamin D and Association between Vitamin D-Levels and Morbidity by Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) among Hospital Staff in Northern Bavaria during a Seasonal Flu Epidemic

Abstract

Although vitamin D is known to have an influence on the immune system, the impact of a low level on the susceptibility to ARI is not very clear. So the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of diminished vitamin D in adult workers and the relationship between vitamin D-levels and the morbidity of acute respiratory infections (ARI) during the influenza epidemic in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1/2018) in Germany. Included were 60 employees of a hospital in northern Bavaria