Serum 25(OH)D level on hospital admission is correlated with COVID-19 mortality

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency was previously correlated with incidence
and severity of COVID-19. We investigated the correlation between
serum 25(OH)D level on admission and radiological stage and
outcome of COVID-19 pneumonia.  Methods: Retrospective
observational trial on 186 SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals hospitalized
from March 1, 2020 to April 7, 2020 with combined chest CT and 25(OH)D
measurement on admission. Multivariate analysis was performed to study if
vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL) predicts survival
independently of confounding comorbidities.  Results: 59% of
COVID-19 patients were vitamin D deficient on admission: 47% of females
and 67% of males. Particularly male COVID-19 patients showed progressively
lower 25(OH)D with advancing radiological stage, with deficiency rates
increasing from 55% in stage 1 to 74% in stage 3. Vitamin D deficiency on
admission was not confounded by age, chronic lung disease, coronary artery
disease/hypertension or diabetes and was correlated with mortality
(OR=3.87, 95%CI 1.30-11.55), independently of other predictors including
age (OR=1.09, 95%CI 1.03-1.14), chronic lung disease (OR=3.61, 95% CI
1.18-11.09) and extent of lung damage expressed by chest CT severity score
(1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.25).  Conclusions: low 25(OH)D levels on
admission are associated with COVID-19 disease mortality