Many Infectious diseases (virus) treated and prevented by Vitamin D – review July 2009

Vitamin D for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Endocr Pract. 2009 Jul-Aug;15(5):438-49. doi: 10.4158/EP09101.ORR.
Yamshchikov AV1, Desai NS, Blumberg HM, Ziegler TR, Tangpricha V.
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30030, USA. AYAMSHC at emory.edu

[https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=9829933637340480930&as_sdt=5,48&sciodt=0,48&hl=en|335 studies reference this study as of Oct 2020

OBJECTIVE: To review the existing human controlled intervention studies of vitamin D as adjunctive therapy in settings of infection and provide recommendations for design and implementation of future studies in this field on the basis of the evidence reviewed.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials that studied vitamin D for treatment or prevention of infectious diseases in humans. Studies from 1948 through 2009 were identified through search terms in PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE.

RESULTS: Thirteen published controlled trials were identified by our search criteria. Ten trials were placebo controlled, and 9 of the 10 were conducted in a rigorous double-blind design. The selected clinical trials demonstrated substantial heterogeneity in baseline patient demographics, sample size, and vitamin D intervention strategies. Serious adverse events attributable to vitamin D supplementation were rare across all studies. On the basis of studies reviewed to date, the strongest evidence supports further research into adjunctive vitamin D therapy for

• tuberculosis,
• influenza
• viral upper respiratory tract illnesses.

In the selected studies, certain aspects of study design are highlighted to help guide future clinical research in the field.

CONCLUSION: More rigorously designed clinical trials are needed for further evaluation of the relationship between vitamin D status and the immune response to infection as well as for delineation of necessary changes in clinical practice and medical care of patients with vitamin D deficiency in infectious disease settings.

PMID: 19491064
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