4 ms·

I remember that there also was the result that supplementing does not help if you have covid. So to me it looks just like correlation and not causation (old sic

I remember that there also was the result that supplementing does not help if you have covid. So to me it looks just like correlation and not causation (old sick people do not go out often and have less vitamin D. Probably same reason while you can find health benifits for alcohol: sick people stop drinking )

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
Study adjusted for age, sex. So no.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Folks, read the study!
- loeg 6y ago
  There can be a 3rd variable other than age or sex!
deelowe 6y ago
Studies seem to be mixed. I've had a hard time finding any that looked at individuals who supplement. Most seem to focus on vitamin d at infection onset or during critical care which is too late. Vitamin D takes about a month of loading for it to have an effect. The one study I did find had a very small sample size.
thatguy0900 6y ago
Maybe it just takes a while for supplementation to actually raise your vitamin d levels
geomark 6y ago
Your comment reminded me of this Dilbert https://dilbert.com/strip/2014-05-09 https://dilbert.com/strip/2014-05-09
madrox 6y ago
Actual experiments for causation take more time. The abstract itself addresses this: "Given the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic and the proven safety of vitamin D supplementation, it therefore appears highly debatable and potentially even unethical to await results of such trials before public health action is taken." I guess the real question is whether you'll wish you had been taking vitamin D if you get Covid-19. While this could end up being placebo, there's some compelling evidence that you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
john_artemis 6y ago
There are several studies where vitamin D works (amazingly well), and one study where it does not. But in the study where it does not work, it's an oral supplement given after hospitalization. Oral vitamin D takes a while to elevate blood levels so the fact that such regimen doesn't work, doesn't prove much.
rriepe 6y ago
This is because of the lag time of Vitamin D. It takes six weeks to change your levels. Since the course of Covid is lower than that, it's generally not helpful if you start supplementing after getting it. There are enough "long hauler" cases where you still should, though.
graeme 6y ago
You missed this from late August. Rct, calcifediol administered to hospitalized patients. Absolutely massive effect on ICU admission. There have been three RCT I know of. Another calcifediol study showed a big impact. An oral supplement study on hospitalized patients did not. Presumably because oral supplements take a while to change levels whereas calcifediol does not. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

Study adjusted for age, sex. So no.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
Folks, read the study!
loeg 6y ago
There can be a 3rd variable other than age or sex!

deelowe 6y ago

Studies seem to be mixed. I've had a hard time finding any that looked at individuals who supplement. Most seem to focus on vitamin d at infection onset or during critical care which is too late. Vitamin D takes about a month of loading for it to have an effect. The one study I did find had a very small sample size.

thatguy0900 6y ago

Maybe it just takes a while for supplementation to actually raise your vitamin d levels

geomark 6y ago

Your comment reminded me of this Dilbert https://dilbert.com/strip/2014-05-09 https://dilbert.com/strip/2014-05-09

madrox 6y ago

Actual experiments for causation take more time. The abstract itself addresses this: "Given the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic and the proven safety of vitamin D supplementation, it therefore appears highly debatable and potentially even unethical to await results of such trials before public health action is taken." I guess the real question is whether you'll wish you had been taking vitamin D if you get Covid-19. While this could end up being placebo, there's some compelling evidence that you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

john_artemis 6y ago

There are several studies where vitamin D works (amazingly well), and one study where it does not. But in the study where it does not work, it's an oral supplement given after hospitalization. Oral vitamin D takes a while to elevate blood levels so the fact that such regimen doesn't work, doesn't prove much.

rriepe 6y ago

This is because of the lag time of Vitamin D. It takes six weeks to change your levels. Since the course of Covid is lower than that, it's generally not helpful if you start supplementing after getting it. There are enough "long hauler" cases where you still should, though.

graeme 6y ago

You missed this from late August. Rct, calcifediol administered to hospitalized patients. Absolutely massive effect on ICU admission. There have been three RCT I know of. Another calcifediol study showed a big impact. An oral supplement study on hospitalized patients did not. Presumably because oral supplements take a while to change levels whereas calcifediol does not. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/