'No evidence vitamin D prevents Covid-19'

A new review by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has concluded that there is no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to specifically prevent or treat Covid-19.

NICE, however, added that all people should continue to follow UK government advice on daily vitamin D supplementation to maintain musculoskeletal health during the pandemic.

The review comes after recent studies suggested that the high death rates among black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) populations could be related to vitamin D deficiency, due to the lack of the so-called ‘sunshine’ nutrient.

NICE examined five observational studies on vitamin D and Covid-19 published on or before June 18, 2020. All five of the studies were found to have a high risk of bias because of the low quality of evidence produced.

It said there was no data available from clinical trials on vitamin D supplementation for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19.

Paul Chrisp, a director at NICE said: "While there are health benefits associated with vitamin D, our rapid evidence summary did not identify sufficient evidence to support the use of vitamin D supplements for the treatment or prevention of Covid-19.

"We know that the research on this subject is ongoing, and Nice is continuing to monitor new published evidence."

Another rapid review by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) found that current evidence does not support the use of vitamin D supplementation to prevent any infection of the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs.

The UK’s rates of vitamin D deficiency are among the highest in Europe.