‘Not enough evidence’ to show vitamin D prevents or treats coronavirus, study finds

Vitamin D is important for general health but there is not enough evidence to suggest it protects against coronavirus
Pixabay

There is "not enough evidence" at the moment to support taking vitamin D to prevent or treat Covid-19, leading organisations have said.

Experts were asked by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to carry out a rapid review of current evidence after some studies suggested vitamin D may be effective against coronavirus.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which led the rapid review, said more research is needed, particularly of high-quality randomised controlled trials.

Current  Public Health England (PHE) advice states that people should take 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D every day between October and early March to keep bones and muscles healthy.

PHE also advises those most at risk of not having enough vitamin D - such as people with dark skin or care home residents - take a vitamin D supplement all year round.

More than 2.5 million vulnerable people across England have been offered free vitamin D supplements this winter.

Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the centre for guidelines at Nice, said: "While there is insufficient evidence to recommend vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 at this time, we encourage people to follow Government advice on taking the supplement throughout the autumn and winter period.

"As research continues on the impact of vitamin D on Covid-19, we are continuing to monitor evidence as it is published and will review and update the guidance if necessary."

Professor Ian Young, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), said: "This evidence review confirms that currently there is not enough available evidence to determine that there is a causal relationship between vitamin D and Covid-19."

Experts believe people may not have been making enough vitamin D from sunlight this year due to prolonged periods indoors as a result of the pandemic.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: "Vitamin D is important for our bone and muscle health.

"We advise that everyone, particularly the elderly, those who don't get outside and those with dark skin, takes a vitamin D supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) every day.

"This year, the advice is more important than ever with more people spending more time inside." 

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in