Association between vitamin D deficiency and clinical outcome in patients with COVID-in the post-Omicron phase
Georgia Damoraki, Marcos Edgar Herkenhoff, Santa Catarina, Kuo-Chuan Hung, I-Wen Chen, Ting-Sian Yu, Yi-Chen Lai, Chih-Ping Yang, Chia-Hung Yu
Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-patients during the early pandemic phases, but whether this association persists in the post-Omicron era remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the evolving relationship between VDD and COVIDoutcomes across pandemic phases using a large healthcare database.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX Analytics Network, analyzing propensity-matched cohorts comprising , pairs from the post-Omicron phase (June -December ) and , pairs from the pre-Omicron phase (January -December ). VDD was defined as a serum -hydroxyvitamin D level < ng/ml, with vitamin D-sufficient patients (≥ ng/ml) serving as controls. The primary outcome was -day all-cause mortality, with secondary outcomes including acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, pneumonia, sepsis, and ICU admission.
Results: The -day mortality in VDD vs. vitamin D-sufficient patients decreased from . % vs. . % [odds ratio (OR), . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . ] in the pre-Omicron phase to . % vs. . % (OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . ) in the post-Omicron phase. Similar risk attenuation was observed across all secondary outcomes, including acute kidney injury (OR, . ; % CI, . -. vs. OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; both p < . ), respiratory failure (OR, . ; % CI, . -. vs. OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; both p < . ), and pneumonia (OR, . ; % CI, . -. vs. OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . and p = . , respectively). Risk factor analysis identified several significant mortality predictors among patients with VDD in the post-Omicron phase, including malnutrition (OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . ), liver disease (OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . ), and neoplasms (OR, . ; % CI, . -. ; p < . ).
Conclusion: VDD continues to be associated with adverse COVID-outcomes in the post-Omicron phase, albeit with a reduced magnitude. These findings support the importance of vitamin D screening in high-risk COVIDpatients, while emphasizing the need for adaptive risk assessment strategies that incorporate both established and emerging risk factors in the current pandemic landscape.
Ethics statement The studies involving humans were approved by Institutional Review Board of the Chi Mei Medical Center. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The Ethics Committee/institutional review board waived the requirement of written informed consent for participation from the participants or the participants' legal guardians/next of kin because this retrospective study utilized data from the TriNetX Analytics Network, which provides only deidentified patient counts and statistical summaries without direct interaction with individuals or interventions.
Author contributions
Conflict of interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement The author(s) declare that no Gen AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
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"abstract": "<jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients during the early pandemic phases, but whether this association persists in the post-Omicron era remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the evolving relationship between VDD and COVID-19 outcomes across pandemic phases using a large healthcare database.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX Analytics Network, analyzing propensity-matched cohorts comprising 24,236 pairs from the post-Omicron phase (June 2022–December 2023) and 22,638 pairs from the pre-Omicron phase (January 2020–December 2021). VDD was defined as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level &lt; 20 ng/ml, with vitamin D-sufficient patients (≥30 ng/ml) serving as controls. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality, with secondary outcomes including acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, pneumonia, sepsis, and ICU admission.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The 30-day mortality in VDD vs. vitamin D-sufficient patients decreased from 1.43% vs. 0.39% [odds ratio (OR), 3.67; 95% CI, 2.90–4.64; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001] in the pre-Omicron phase to 0.89% vs. 0.49% (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.46–2.28; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001) in the post-Omicron phase. Similar risk attenuation was observed across all secondary outcomes, including acute kidney injury (OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.92–2.31 vs. OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.29–1.54; both <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001), respiratory failure (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.44–1.92 vs. OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16–1.54; both <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001), and pneumonia (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16–1.55 vs. OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07–1.42; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001 and <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.004, respectively). Risk factor analysis identified several significant mortality predictors among patients with VDD in the post-Omicron phase, including malnutrition (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 3.18–5.92; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001), liver disease (OR, 3.08; 95% CI, 2.23–4.25; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001), and neoplasms (OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 2.01–3.45; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.001).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>VDD continues to be associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes in the post-Omicron phase, albeit with a reduced magnitude. These findings support the importance of vitamin D screening in high-risk COVID-19 patients, while emphasizing the need for adaptive risk assessment strategies that incorporate both established and emerging risk factors in the current pandemic landscape.</jats:p></jats:sec>",
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