Study of vitamin D status with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abdallah Jihene Ben; Chaima Boughzala; Sawssen Mrad; Yosra Hasni; Hamza Elfekih; Oumayma Zarrouk; Aiachi Mohamed Ilehi; Naoufel Chbili; Bassem Charfeddine; Selima Ferchichi

doi:10.1530/endoabs.99.EP591

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Endocrine Abstracts (2024) 99 EP591 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.99.EP591

ECE2024 Eposter Presentations Calcium and Bone (102 abstracts)

Study of vitamin D status with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Jihene Ben Abdallah ¹ , Chaima Boughzala ¹ , Sawssen Mrad ¹ , Yosra Hasni ² , Hamza Elfekih ² , Oumayma Zarrouk ² , Mohamed Ilehi Aiachi ³ , Naoufel Chbili ³ , Bassem Charfeddine ¹ & Selima Ferchichi ¹

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¹University Hospital of Farhat Hached, Biochemistry laboratory, sousse; ²University Hospital of Farhat Hached, Endocrinology departement, sousse; ³university hospital of sahloul, Emergency Medical Assistance Service 03, sousse

Introduction: COVID-19 is a potentially serious disease with a high case fatality. At present no specific drug has been shown to be effective and safe in treating it. Recently, evidence suggests that higher levels of vitamin D protect against this infection. However, published studies on this subject are limited. The aim of this work was to investigate an association between hypovitaminosis D and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study over a period from 1 December 2020 to 07 January 2021 including patients suspected of COVID-19. They had undergone a PCR test and a vitamin D assay. The "Wondfo" SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR assay was used to detect coronavirus nucleic acid. Vitamin D status was assessed by measuring 25(OH)D using the direct competitive immunoassay technique with chemiluminescence revelation on Cobas e601. 25(OH)D deficiency was defined as a level below 10 ng/ml, insufficiency was defined as values between 10-30 ng/ml and a result above 30 ng/ml was considered optimal.

Results: Two hundred and thirty-five patients suspected of having COVID-19 were included, with a median age of 35 years and a sex ratio of 0.71. The RT-PCR test was positive in 49.4%. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 79.9% in non-diseased subjects and 81.9% in diseased subjects, with mean vitamin D concentrations of 21.5 ng/ml and 21.8 ng/ml, respectively. There was no significant difference in vitamin D levels between coronavirus-affected and nonaffected subjects (P=0.857).

Discussion: Our preliminary results, which do not support a potential link between vitamin D levels and infectious risk, are in line with the literature. However, contrasting results were reported in two Israeli and US studies, providing strong evidence of an association between lower 25(OH)D levels and an increased risk of COVID-19.

Conclusion: The design of large-scale studies will be required to assess the relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19 and generate more robust conclusions.