Vitamin D deficiency, a true pandemic
Vitamin D deficiency has been considered a global problem and recognized as a pandemic. This is because its main source is sun exposure, which is limited in some regions and currently questioned due to its potential adverse effects when not done properly. Consuming it through the few foods that provide it is not enough to reach the required dose. Accordingly, and through various studies, it has been proven that in regions at very high latitudes there is a greater risk of suffering from bone diseases such as rickets, osteopenia, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, fractures, cancer, type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, depression, schizophrenia, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and others.
Scientists have found that vitamin D, in addition to being required for calcium absorption and bone formation and mineralization, also has significant effects on various tissues, so its deficiency increases the risk of developing the aforementioned diseases. Numerous studies conducted with COVID-19 patients have established a correlation between vitamin D deficiency, the severity of symptoms, and mortality caused by this virus.
In accordance with all this evidence, the use of vitamin D supplements has been considered of primary interest, due to its diverse and potential benefits, to help alleviate and strengthen a healthy immune system against infectious diseases such as Covid-19 and to help with cardiovascular, bone, inflammatory, neoplastic diseases, and other disorders.
References
- Holick MF, Chen TC. Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequences. Am J Clin Nutr . 2008 Apr;87(4):1080S-6S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/87.4.1080S. PMID: 18400738.
- Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1678S-88S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1678S. PMID: 15585788.
- Gueli N, Verrusio W, Linguanti A, Di Maio F, Martinez A, Marigliano B, Cacciafesta M. Vitamin D: drugs of the future. A new therapeutic approach. Arch Gerontol Geriatr . 2012 Jan-Feb;54(1):222-7. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2011.03.001. Epub 2011 Apr 1. PMID: 21458871.
- Bleizgys A. Vitamin D and COVID-19: It is time to act. Int J Clin Pract . 2020 Oct 4:e13748. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.13748. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33012103; PMCID: PMC7646035.