Immunonutrition Therapy for COVID-19
Srijan Goswami, Chiranjeeb Dey in COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, 2022
It is very important to understand the causes of vitamin D deficiency because studies have shown that individuals deficient in vitamin D are more susceptible to infectious diseases like COVID-19. Vitamin D deficiency may occur due to common reasons like inadequate consumption as per recommended dietary intake values, decreased exposure to sunlight, obesity, ageing, and colour of skin. The deficiency may also occur due to underlying conditions like progressive chronic liver diseases (PCLD), chronic kidney disease or renal failure (CKD), CHF, hypertension (HTN), coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus (DM). All these diseases are co-morbid conditions associated with COVID-19. There are several groups of pharmacological substances such as laxatives, steroids, cholesterol-lowering drugs, seizure control drugs, anti-tuberculosis medications, and weight loss medications (to name a few) that are known to create vitamin D deficiency. Having a clear understanding of the threshold of low vitamin D, which potentially increases the risk of infection, are critical for treatment purposes. It has been observed that small daily doses of vitamin D are much more beneficial as compared with a large one-time dosage. Organizations like the Food and Nutrition Board and the Endocrine Society recommend the reference ranges presented in Table 16.1 as the appropriate dosages of vitamin D depending on age and sex.
Nutritional Diseases
Ayşe Serap Karadağ, Lawrence Charles Parish, Jordan V. Wang in Roxburgh's Common Skin Diseases, 2022
Overview: Approximately 1 billion people are vitamin D deficient, and about half of the global population is vitamin D insufficient. Prevalence is higher in the elderly, breastfed infants, nursing home and hospitalized patients, and obese individuals. Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by decreased dietary intake/absorption, limited endogenous synthesis, and limited sun exposure. It can also be a result of end organ resistance and increased hepatic catabolism by CYP450-inducing medications (e.g., phenobarbital, dexamethasone, and rifampin). Vitamin D deficiencies that are severe enough to trigger secondary hyperparathyroidism as a result of hypocalcemia will experience accelerated bone resorption and phosphaturia. This leads to osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults and rickets in children.
Common nutritional problems in preschool children
Judy More in Infant, Child and Adolescent Nutrition, 2021
Vitamin D deficiency can only be diagnosed by a blood test and these are not done routinely. Risk factors that make vitamin D deficiency more likely include:Asian, African and Middle Eastern ethnic originprolonged exclusive breastfeeding with late introduction of complementary feedingnot taking the recommended daily supplement of vitamin D (see Chapter12, page xx)limited options for being outside with some bare skin exposedexcess use of sunscreen which prevents cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D.
Vitamin D: sources, physiological role, biokinetics, deficiency, therapeutic use, toxicity, and overview of analytical methods for detection of vitamin D and its metabolites
Published in Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 2022
Jiří Janoušek, Veronika Pilařová, Kateřina Macáková, Anderson Nomura, Jéssica Veiga-Matos, Diana Dias da Silva, Fernando Remião, Luciano Saso, Kateřina Malá-Ládová, Josef Malý, Lucie Nováková, Přemysl Mladěnka
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are logically linked to the malfunction of vitamin D-dependent processes. The deficit causes decreased absorption of dietary calcium and phosphate, which affects the quality of bones. In childhood, vitamin D deficiency manifests as rickets. This disease is characterized by a delay in closure of the fontanels, bowing of long bones, malformations in knees and wrists, scoliosis or kyphosis, and poor growth [192,213,222]. Additionally, hypocalcemic seizures may often occur in the first year of life [222]. In adults, vitamin D deficiency causes osteomalacia and osteoporosis, diseases characterized by demineralization of bones with an increased risk of fractures [216,223]. Bone deformities are not common symptoms in adults, in contrast to children [192]. Unlike osteoporosis, osteomalacia is accompanied by isolated or generalized bone pain [224,225].
Erythropoietic protoporphyria in pregnancy
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2021
Elizabeth G. Nevins, Ajith Wijesiriwardana
Gene mutations in the ferrochelatase gene cause a deficiency of ferrochelatase enzyme, which is required for the insertion of Fe2+ into protophyrin IX in order to form haemoglobin (Yacquemyn 2003). This causes abnormally high levels of protoporphyrin IX in erythrocytes, plasma, skin and tissues (Ramanujam and Anderson 2015), leading to photosensitivity to UV light which is usually non-scarring but may cause, itching urticaria, erythema, burning and scarring if severe (Schmidt et al. 1974; Puy et al. 2010; Elliott and Mongelli 2014). Abnormalities of haemoglobin synthesis may cause anaemia. Vitamin D deficiency is thought to be due to lack of exposure to sunlight (Elliott and Mongelli 2014). Proactive management of anaemia and vitamin D deficiency, with supplementation, is therefore essential as pregnancy can exacerbate both of these conditions, especially in women with predisposing conditions such as EPP. Up to 5% of patients with EPP will develop liver disease (Bewley et al. 1998) including gallstones, cholestasis, jaundice, hepatotoxicity, cirrhosis and liver failure and monitoring of liver function tests is essential (Schmidt et al. 1974; Tollånes et al. 2011). Porphyrias may cause foetal growth restriction (Tollånes et al. 2011) and, as a result, serial growth scans are also required.
Vitamin D levels on sports injuries in outdoor and indoor athletes: a cross-sectional study
Published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2022
Seçkin Şenışık, Ogün Köyağasıoğlu, Nevzad Denerel
Adequate vitamin D levels are essential for bone and muscle health. Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is associated with muscle pain, weakness and poor performance, as well as with increased frequency of disease and stress fractures [19]. Muscular and skeletal pain that can accompany individuals with vitamin D deficiency may often be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and myositis [8,20–22]. Vitamin D deficiency was found in 93% of patients with nonspecific musculoskeletal pain [21]. It has been reported that vitamin D levels are also related to muscle strength and functions [23]. It has been shown that muscle mass, muscle strength and physical performance are low in people with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency [24]. Moreover, it has been shown that giving vitamin D supplementation to people or without vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency can increase muscle strength and physical performance [25]. Vitamin D levels have been shown to affect muscle injury rates. Many studies have demonstrated that the incidence of muscle injuries is higher in athletes with vitamin D deficiency [14,20]. Fewer injuries have occured among ballerinas who received vitamin D supplementation compared to those who did not receive supplementation [22,26], and the incidence of injury was found to be lower in summer months when the vitamin D levels were high [26]. It has been found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of fractures, and the frequency of stress fractures is 60% higher in those with vitamin D deficiency [27].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Biomineralization
- Liver Disease
- Metabolite
- Osteomalacia
- Osteoporosis
- Vitamin D
- Rickets
- Health Effects of Sunlight Exposure
- Kidney Disease
- Genetic Disorder