COVID-19: The Inflammation Link and the Role of Nutrition in Potential Mitigation

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 1466
• Main Authors: Zabetakis, Ioannis, Lordan, Ronan, Norton, Catherine, Tsoupras, Alexandros
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19-05-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: anti-inflammatory; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - administration & dosage; Antigens; Betacoronavirus; Cardiovascular diseases; Chemokines; Clinical outcomes; Complications; Coronaviridae; coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - blood; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronavirus Infections - therapy; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cytokine storm; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Diabetes mellitus; Diet - methods; Disease control; Disease transmission; Enzymes; Food groups; Health care; Health risks; Humans; Hygiene; Immune response; Immune system; infection; Infections; Inflammation; Inflammation - immunology; Inflammation - therapy; Kinases; Lung diseases; Lymphocytes; Nutrients; Nutrition; Nutrition Therapy - methods; Nutritional status; Nutritional Status - immunology; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - blood; Pneumonia, Viral - immunology; Pneumonia, Viral - therapy; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; Public health; Respiratory diseases; Review; Risk analysis; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Viral infections; Viruses; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; infection; nutrition; inflammation; vitamin C; vitamin D; anti-inflammatory; coronavirus; noncommunicable diseases; zinc
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12051466

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has engulfed the world, affecting more than 180 countries. As a result, there has been considerable economic distress globally and a significant loss of life. Sadly, the vulnerable and immunocompromised in our societies seem to be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 complications. Global public health bodies and governments have ignited strategies and issued advisories on various handwashing and hygiene guidelines, social distancing strategies, and, in the most extreme cases, some countries have adopted "stay in place" or lockdown protocols to prevent COVID-19 spread. Notably, there are several significant risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection. These include the presence of poor nutritional status and pre-existing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes mellitus, chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), obesity, and various other diseases that render the patient immunocompromised. These diseases are characterized by systemic inflammation, which may be a common feature of these NCDs, affecting patient outcomes against COVID-19. In this review, we discuss some of the anti-inflammatory therapies that are currently under investigation intended to dampen the cytokine storm of severe COVID-19 infections. Furthermore, nutritional status and the role of diet and lifestyle is considered, as it is known to affect patient outcomes in other severe infections and may play a role in COVID-19 infection. This review speculates the importance of nutrition as a mitigation strategy to support immune function amid the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying food groups and key nutrients of importance that may affect the outcomes of respiratory infections.