Serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels in patients with COVID-19
Case control study with 93 hospitalized patients in Iran and 186 control patients, showing significantly lower vitamin D, zinc, and calcium levels in cases. IR.SHOUSHTAR.REC.1399.017.
Elham et al., 18 Apr 2021, retrospective, case control, Iran, peer-reviewed, 6 authors.
Abstract: Clinical Nutrition ESPEN 43 (2021) 276e282
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN
journal homepage: http://www.clinicalnutritionespen.com
Original article
Serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels in patients with COVID-19
Abdolahi Shahvali Elham a, Khalighi Azam b, Jahangirimehr Azam a, *,
Labibzadeh Mostafa a, Bahmanyari Nasrin b, Najafi Marzieh a
a
b
Shoushtar Faculty of Medical Sciences, Shoushtar, Iran
Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Shoushtar Faculty of Medical Sciences, Shoushtar, Iran
a r t i c l e i n f o
s u m m a r y
Article history:
Received 13 January 2021
Accepted 27 March 2021
Background and aim: COVID-19 is a global public health concern. As no standard treatment has been
found for it yet, several minerals and vitamins with antioxidants, immunomodulators, and antimicrobials
roles can be sufficient for the immune response against the disease. The present study evaluates the
serum vitamin D, calcium, and Zinc levels in patients with COVID-19.
Materials & methods: This research is a caseecontrol study performed in May 2020 on 93 patients with
COVID-19 hospitalized in a Shoushtar city hospital and on 186 healthy subjects with no symptoms of
COVID-19. The serum vitamin D, calcium, and zinc levels were collected and analyzed using correlation
coefficient and independent t-test via SPSS 18.
Results: Vitamin D levels had a significant difference between the case and control groups (p ¼ 0.008).
Serum calcium and serum zinc levels also had statistically significant differences between the two groups
(p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The research results showed that serum zinc, calcium, and vitamin D levels in COVID-19
patients are lower than in the control group. The supplementation with such nutrients is a safe and
low-cost measure that can help cope with the increased demand for these nutrients in risk of acquiring
the COVID-19 virus.
© 2021 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords:
COVID-19
Vitamin D
Calcium
Zinc
elham
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