Title : Comorbidities in COVID-19 patients: Are these associated with vitamin D deficiency and SARS-CoV-2 infection grade?
Abstract:
Background: Vitamin D, recognized for its immunomodulatory effects, plays a crucial role in strengthening the body's defense mechanisms. Emerging evidence suggests that comorbidities associated with COVID-19 often exhibit lower levels of Vitamin D, predisposing them to heightened susceptibility to severe COVID-19 manifestations.
Objective: We aim to assets the COVID-19 positive individuals with demographic and laboratory parameters, comorbidities identified post COVID-19 infection acquired with vitamin D deficiency. Materials and Method: This was a cross-sectional study. Estimation of serum 25(OH)D was done in conjunction with other blood tests including D dimer and complete blood count. All COVID-19 positive patients were check for the other health issues and medical emergencies. Data analysis was done using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) Version 23 for Windows. The demographic variables, COVID-19 severity, Vitamin D level, and comorbidity were calculated in number and percentage. The ANOVA test was used to find significant differences in Vitamin D, D Dimer, to COVID severity.
Results: Fifty patients who clinically diagnosed with positive COVID-19 by RT-PCR were included in this study. 74% (n=37) patients were vitamin D deficient. Eight percent patients were (n=4) were diagnose with insufficient vitamin D levels, and 18% patients had adequate vitamin D levels. It was noted that after acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection 62% (n=31) were diabetic, 36% (n=18) were obese, and 42% (n=24) patients were suffering from hypertension. Other medical conditions such as NS (20%), TH (6%), TB (4%), CKD (2%), and COPD (2%) was observed. Correlation was observed in the severity grade of COVID-19 infection and comorbidities. Moreover, the positive correlation between the laboratory and demographic markers was also observed.
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection had an impact on individuals’ medical health. Health comorbidities were associated to the COVID-19 severity. Plus, our study demonstrated that lowervitamin D levels also had a significant impact on demographic markers indicative of low and deficient vitamin D levels may be associated and responsible for infection severity and comorbidities.
Key words: COVID-19, comorbidities, vitamin D, correlation of infection severity
