Vitamin D Levels Considerably Dropped During COVID-19 Pandemic, Bavarian Study Reveals
A new study โคled โฃby Professor Eva grill, an epidemiologist at LMU โฃMunich, has โrevealed a significantโ decline โฃin vitamin D levels acrossโค teh population during โฃthe COVID-19 pandemic.The research,โค published in Nature Communications, is the first to demonstrate this trend at a population level.
Researchers analyzed โanonymized routine โคdata from 292,187 patients โฃacross Bavaria, encompassing โขboth outpatient and inpatient care, utilizing a data protection-compliant research platform linkedโ to laboratory โฃinformation systems. โComparing data from March 2018 to February 2020 (pre-pandemic) with March 2020 โto Februaryโ 2022 (during the pandemic), they found the mean โฃserum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D decreased from 26.7 ยตg/l โคto 26.0โ ยตg/l. โ Concurrently, the percentage of individuals with vitamin D deficiency (defined as โless thanโ 20 ยตg/l) rose from 31.2% โฃto 35.2%.
These findings were statistically significant (p < 0.001) and remained consistent even โคafter accounting for factorsโข likeโ age, gender, and season.The researchers validated their results using three independent statistical methods - descriptive analyses,โฃ propensityโ score matching, and machine โlearning - all confirming the โdecline inโ vitamin D andโ the increase in deficiency โฃrates.
The study identifiedโฃ specific groups especially affected. Older women over 60 experienced a notable drop in vitamin D levels. Young โฃadultsโฃ aged 18-39 also โsaw aโฃ significant increase in deficiency,rising fromโข 34.6% toโค 37.8%.โฃ โVitamin D is vital for bone health and plays a role in immune function,โ potentially increasing susceptibility to infections, autoimmune diseases, โand fractures when deficient.
A โclear urban-rural disparity was alsoโข observed,with deficiency rates consistently higher โinโข urban areas.โ Researchers attribute this to factors โฃlikeโฃ reduced sunlight exposure due to building density, โคlimited access to greenโ spaces, and increased airโ pollution.
interestingly, despiteโฃ women generally taking vitamin D supplements more โฃfrequently โthan men, they experienced greater losses in vitamin D levels during the pandemic. Professor Grill suggests this could be linked to increased workload, stress, and reduced access to preventative healthcare services for women.
Professor Grill emphasizes the broaderโ implications of the study, stating that routine medical โฃdataโ can serve as an “early โwarning system for public health.” This approach allows for โrapid identification โof trends, such as nutrientโ declines or rising risk factors, โwithout relyingโค on lengthy surveys. The researchers envision โคintegrating laboratory,billing,and supplyโ data to proactively track micronutrient levels,metabolic parameters,and vaccination rates,paving the way for a more data-driven prevention policy.