Covid Update - Zinc and Vitamin D - linked to better outcomes

Zinc and hospitalizations

Between March 15, 2020, and April 30, 2020, doctors measured fasting levels of zinc in 249 Covid patients admitted to a university hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Zinc levels averaged 61 micrograms per deciliter of blood (mcg/dL), and among those who later died in the hospital, average zinc levels were 43 mcg/dL.

Overall, those whose zinc levels fell below 50 mcg/dL were 2.3 times more likely to die in the hospital than those with levels at or higher than 50. While the infection was active, those with better zinc levels also had lower levels of interleukin-6, the proteins that signal systemic inflammation.

The findings led doctors to conclude lower zinc levels at admission were linked to higher inflammation and poorer outcomes in those with Covid-19.

Reference: ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID); September 23, 2020, Reports

Vitamin D and infection rates

New research from Quest Diagnostics and Boston University reveals those whose vitamin D levels fell below 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood (ng/ml), or 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L), were 54 percent more likely to test positive for Covid-19.

Doctors took the measurements from mid-March to Mid-June, 2020, covering 191,779 people from all 50 states, and matching with their vitamin D levels during the preceding 12 months.

There was a direct link between vitamin D levels and testing positive: a 12.5 percent rate for those with less than 20 ng/ml; an 8.1 percent rate for those with 30 to 34 ng/ml, and a 5.9 percent rate for those with vitamin D levels of at least 55 ng/ml.

Reference: PLOS ONE; September, 2020, 0239252