Association between 25-OH Vitamin D Deficiency and COVID-19 Severity in Pregnant Women

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 23; p. 15188
• Main Authors: Vásquez-Procopio, Johana, Torres-Torres, Johnatan, Borboa-Olivares, Hector, Sosa, Salvador Espino Y, Martínez-Portilla, Raigam Jafet, Solis-Paredes, Mario, Tolentino-Dolores, Mari-Cruz, Helguera-Repetto, Addy Cecilia, Marrufo-Gallegos, Karla Cecilia, Missirlis, Fanis, Perichart-Perera, Otilia, Estrada-Gutierrez, Guadalupe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02-12-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Asymptomatic; Calciferol; Communication; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Cytokines; Ethnicity; Female; Gestational age; Gestational diabetes; Health care; Hospitalization; Humans; Hypertension; Immune system; Infections; Observational studies; Population studies; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Premature birth; Public health; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Signs and symptoms; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vitamin D; Vitamin D Deficiency; Vitamin deficiency; Womens health; immune system; SARS-CoV-2; asymptomatic; vitamin D deficiency; pregnancy
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315188

Evidence from studies in the general population suggests an association between vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency and COVID-19 susceptibility and disease severity. The present study was performed on 165 third-trimester pregnant women at the time of delivery. Seventy-nine women tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. From 86 women testing positive, 32 were asymptomatic, 44 presented a mild form of the disease, and 10 experienced severe symptoms. Serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were measured on blood samples collected on admission. Low vitamin D levels were detected in symptomatic but not asymptomatic COVID-19 patients compared to healthy women (
= 0.0227). In addition, 20 (45.4%) pregnant women in the mild COVID-19 group and 6 (60%) in the severe group were vitamin D deficient (
= 0.030). On the other hand, lasso regression analysis showed that 25-OH vitamin D deficiency is an independent predictor of severe COVID-19 with an odds ratio (OR) of 5.81 (95% CI: 1.108-30.541;
= 0.037). These results show the relationship between vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women and the severity of COVID-19 infection and support the recommendation to supplement with vitamin D to avoid worse COVID-19 outcomes during pregnancy.