Abstract 89: Correlation between serum Vitamin D3 levels and severity of COVID-19 infection

Background: It is postulated that Vitamin-D deficiency is associated with poor prognosis of COVID-19. Aims and Objectives: To study the correlation between Serum 25-hydroxy-Vitamin D (25OHD) levels and COVID-19 disease severity and outcomes in Indian population. Results: We prospectively recruited 200 consenting COVID-19 positive adults from a COVID-19-dedicated centre and assessed their 25OHD status on day1- 2 of admission. Disease severity was classified as per NIH guidelines and patients were followed till recovery or death. Our cohort had 11% asymptomatic, 14% mild, 14.5% moderate, 37.5% severe and 22% critical patients and their mean 25(OH)D levels were 24.09 ng/ml, 18.97 ng/ml, 15.81 ng/ml, 19.46 ng/ml and 16.45 ng/ml respectively. 89% (n=178) patients recovered (mean 25(OH)D 18.9 ng/ml) and 11% (n=22) succumbed (mean 25(OH)D 16.88 ng/ml). There was no significant correlation between baseline Vitamin-D levels with clinical severity or outcome. Oxygen requiring patients had slightly more proportion of severely Vitamin-D deficient population (<10 ng/ml) (24.03% Vs 19.71%) however it was not statistically significant (p-0.484). Low 25OHD levels had significant inverse association with inflammatory markers like NLR (Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio) (p-0.004) and IL-6 (p-0.006). Conclusion: Baseline Vitamin-D levels were not correlated with clinical severity or outcome but inversely correlated with inflammatory markers (NLR, IL-6) in COVID 19 patients.