(1375) Vitamin D and COVID-19: An Analysis of Mortality and Outcomes in a Tertiary-Care Center

Introduction: Vitamin D has been shown to have modulatory effects on the inflammatory system. Studies hypothesized vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for worse COVID-19 outcomes. However, some meta-analyses found no correlation. We examined possible correlations between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 outcomes (i.e., transfers to a higher level of care, cardiac arrests, and death) in a tertiary care center serving a largely minority-populated urban area (~55% Hispanic or Latino and ~25% Black or African American).

Methods: We completed a retrospective cohort study of patient charts from a simple random sample of those that carried the COVID-19 code as a diagnosis. We had 199 patients in our sample. Vitamin D levels were categorized as normal (>30 ng/mL) (n = 61), subtherapeutic (20-30 ng/mL) (n = 50), and deficient ( < 20 ng/mL) (n = 88) based on the values drawn either on admission or within 180 days before admission. We reported baseline characteristics as means with standard deviations. We performed Spearman’s correlation analysis to determine if there is any association between vitamin D levels and patient outcomes.

Results: The mean age of our population was 61.44 years old. Of the study population, 54.8% were male, and 45.2% were female. The mean length of stay in the hospital was 12.3 days. There were a total of 14 deaths in the normal vitamin D level group (14/61 = 0.2295 or 22.95% mortality), 6 deaths in the subtherapeutic group (6/50 = 0.12 or 12% mortality) and 10 deaths in the deficient group (10/88 = 0.1136 or 11.36% mortality). Interestingly, we found a modest positive correlation between vitamin D levels and age (Spearman’s rho, correlation coefficient 0.322, p=0.00). We did not find any significant correlation between vitamin D levels and cardiac arrests, transfers to higher levels of care, or mortality (Spearman’s rho, correlation coefficients of -0.03, -0.07, and 0.08, respectively; p=0.246).

Conclusions: There was no association between Vitamin D levels and patient outcomes such as cardiac arrests, transfers to higher levels of care, or mortality. Ensuring that patients have sufficient vitamin D levels is essential for overall health management. However, the role of vitamin D supplementation in preventing severe COVID-19 infection is still unclear and requires further investigation.