Meanwhile, the uncontrolled intake of vitamin D, which many today take as a preventive measure against COVID-19, can lead to health problems, ” warns the Honored Doctor of Russia, leading scientific editor of the Vrachu.ru service Mikhail Kagan.
“At present, interest in vitamin D has increased significantly. The fact is that Russia is located in a zone of low insolation, therefore its deficiency is very common among various segments of the population,” Mikhail Kagan explained to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. “Considering the important physiological role of this vitamin in body, a number of researchers suggest that its deficiency may be associated with an increased risk of developing a wide variety of diseases – from cardiovascular to Alzheimer’s disease.Low levels of vitamin D are often detected in patients with autoimmune diseases, overweight people, with cancer. so far, unfortunately, no convincing evidence has been obtained that it was the deficiency of this vitamin that contributed to the development of these diseases, and was not their consequence or simply a concomitant factor. It has also not been reliably proven that the normalization of vitamin D levels by taking preparations containing it reliably protects a person from diseases other than osteoporo behind”.
Recently, there have been many reports and publications in the media that vitamin D deficiency leads to a severe course of COVID-19 when infected with coronavirus. And this has caused a surge in demand for vitamin D preparations in pharmacies.
“The effect of vitamin D has been studied in patients with acute respiratory diseases, including influenza. A number of controlled studies have shown a reduction in the risk of illness with regular vitamin D intake, especially in people who were previously deficient. However, with the same flu, it has not been confirmed the importance of vitamin D in terms of preventing severe cases of the disease “, – said Mikhail Kagan.
The expert explained that since the new coronavirus infection also belongs to the group of acute respiratory diseases, some studies have suggested a link between low vitamin D levels and a higher risk of severe disease.
“But there are currently no publications confirming or refuting the effectiveness of vitamin D intake for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19,” emphasizes Mikhail Kagan. “It is still unclear how to interpret the identification of widespread vitamin D deficiency in the population in patients with severe the course of the disease. Is it a coincidence, a background condition, or a provoking factor? The exact answers to these questions remain to be obtained. “
As a result, the doctor does not recommend self-medication, taking vitamin D preparations without monitoring its level in the body and dosage when taken.
“The optimal approach in this situation is to check the level of vitamin D in the blood, followed by its correction, if necessary, and maintenance in the norm,” the expert concluded.
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