Vitamin D Levels and its Association with Inflammatory Markers, Severity and Outcome in Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients - An Indian Perspective

Abstract

Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has taken over the world in enormous proportions like none other in recent times. Vitamin D plays an essential role in the immune system and has proven to have importance in the context of many respiratory infections. This study aims to unveil the possible correlation between vitamin D levels and disease outcome and affirm the role of hypovitaminosis D as an independent risk factor for severity in COVID 19.Methods: We studied 209 RTPCR confirmed COVID 19 positive cases. Serum 25(OH) D levels were done at the time of admission. HRCT chest and inflammatory markers (serum ferritin, D dimer, IL6 and CRP) were estimated on admission and repeated on case-to-case basis.Results: Out of 209 patients studied, 44.49% had vitamin D deficiency, 24.40% had Vitamin D insufficiency, and 31.11% had normal Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency significantly increased with advancing age. The mean vitamin D level in our study is 27.47 ± 21.86. 27.8% had mild COVID-19 disease as evidenced by HRCT imaging, 21.1% showed moderate disease, and 51.2% showed severe COVID-19. The mean values of inflammatory markers in Vitamin Ddeficient patients were as follows: D dimer (3298.88 ± 2230.14), Serum Ferritin (530.88 ± 497.14) CRP (175.34 ± 87.27) IL6 (125.39 ± 275.72). Significant correlation of Vitamin D with C reactive protein (r = -0.18, p ≤ 0.05), D-Dimer (r = -0.42, p < 0.0001), and CT severity score (r = -0.24, p ≤ 0.0001) was noted. Conclusion: In our study, Vitamin D inversely proportional levels were inversely proportional to CRP, D-Dimer, and CT severity.