Vitamin D
The authors in this article explore the possible associations of vitamin D status and in-hospital mortality related to COVID-19 and the need for mechanical ventilation. They conducted a retrospective, observational, 2-center cohort study which included adult patients from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center. Clinical data were extracted by researchers from the respective medical centers. Approximately 825 patients were hospitalized across the two medical centers and the necessary information was available for 144 patients. Logistic regression models were used to identify potential associations between baseline characteristics , vitamin D status, and mortality. Results showed that the mean 25(OH)D level was 30.44 ng/mL (SD, 17.03), and the median was 28.0 ng/mL (IQR, 16.8-39 ng/mL). Assessed as a continuous, logarithmic, dichotomous, or ordinal variable, 25(OH)D was significantly inversely associated with mortality (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.93 to 0.996; P=.03]; OR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.02 to 0.77; P=.03]; OR, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.11 to 0.80; P=.02]; and OR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.98; P=.04], respectively). Overall, significant and consistent associations were observed between in-hospital mortality risk and 25(OH)D levels and age.
The authors of this article use COVID-19 mortality data to determine the effect of severe vitamin D deficiency (classified as 25(OH)D levels of less than 25 nmol/L) and mortality. According to the correlation analysis, there was a strong and significant association between countries with high prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 deaths per million (r = 0.79, p = 0.007). Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis indicated that severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in mortality. For example, deaths increased by 55 per million for each 1% increase in prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency (95% confidence interval, CI 8–102, p = 0.03).
Vaccine Acceptance
This study examines the associations of sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, and level of education with vaccine acceptance. There were 13,426 participants from 19 countries that had high levels of COVID-19. These countries were Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States. The results indicated that women in France, Germany, Russia, and Sweden were more likely to accept the vaccine compared to men. The authors found that age (50 vs. ≥50) was a significant factor in Canada, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. Contrarily, in China, younger individuals were more likely to get the vaccine compared to older individuals. Educational differences were also observed with acceptance of a vaccine. For example, individuals with high or very high levels of education in Ecuador, France, Germany, India, and the US were more likely to indicate that they would accept a vaccine whereas Canada, Spain, and UK had a lower rate of acceptance.
