While in some countries the launch of the vaccine is in full swing, many of us still live in the middle of the risks of the unprotected COVID-19 pandemic and need all the help we can get.
An interesting study by an international team of researchers has now found little association with the use of supplements, indicating fewer COVID-19 infections in women taking certain types of vitamins. But don’t rush to the pharmacy yet.
First, it is important to remember that the potential merits of multivitamins are extremely limited. Doctors generally recommend that most people get enough micronutrients in their diet to stay healthy, and in the past, studies of the health benefits of non-deficient vitamin supplements diagnosed for health have been a really mixed bag.
Despite this, in the early days of the pandemic, vitamins were one of the many items that flew off the pharmacy shelves.
“The UK supplement market grew by 19.5% in the period before the national ‘lockdown’ in early March 2020, with a 110% increase in vitamin C sales and a 93% increase in multivitamin supplement sales “, Wrote the team.
“Similarly, sales of zinc supplements rose 415 percent in the 7-day period ending March 8, at the height of the US COVID-19 concern.”
Supplements can play a role in supporting our health. Zinc is one of the few micronutrients related to shortening the evolution of the common cold disease; Those on vegan diets are advised to take vitamin B12 to help combat the deficiency. But eliminating infections is difficult.
The researchers took data from an application launched by medical science company Zoe in early 2020 called the “COVID-19 Symptom Study” application, which asked participants a wide range of questions, including whether they used vitamins such as probiotics, garlic, oils. fish, multivitamins, vitamin D, vitamin C or zinc. They also asked if they had been tested for SARS-CoV-2 and what the results were.
A total of 445,850 subscribers from the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden responded to the questionnaire before July 31, 2020, providing the team with numerous data to analyze.
In the United Kingdom, where the vast majority of respondents settled, just under half took some kind of supplement. Approximately 6% of those who took supplements tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, while 6.6% of those who did not take supplements tested positive. This is a difference of about 2,500 people.
“In the UK cohort, users who regularly supplemented their diet with multivitamins had a 13% lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, a 9% lower risk of vitamin D, and probiotics they had a 14% lower risk and with omega-3 fatty acids they had a 12% lower risk “, the researchers wrote.
“There were no significant associations in those supplementing with zinc, vitamin C or garlic.”
There are a lot of warnings here to take note of. First, this is an observational study based on self-reports, which means that there is no causal evidence that vitamins have led to fewer COVID-19 diagnoses.
The team adapted according to age, gender, BMI and a number of other factors and tried to take into account the “healthy bias of the user”, which is the idea that those who take vitamins are probably healthier in other ways, which could confuse results.
Even after all this, the results were still there, but interestingly, once the team divided the results by gender, in men there was no difference in supplements, while in women the results were present at all ages and age groups. BMI.
The results were also slightly different between the US and Sweden, finding that omega-3 supplements did not appear to help Swedish women, and probiotics and vitamin D appeared to help US men.
“In the largest observational study on SARS-CoV-2 infection and the use of dietary supplements to date in over 400,000 application users in three different countries, we show a significant association between users of omega-3 fatty acid supplements, probiotics , multivitamins or vitamin D and a lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, “the team wrote.
“Women who buy vitamins may also be more health conscious than men, such as the greater use of wearing face masks and hand washing. Indeed, in our data, we found that women tended to wear masks. more often than men. “
After all, the results show a very modest difference; for example, vitamin administration decreased the absolute risk of taking COVID-19 by less than 1% in study participants in the UK.
But at the population level, even tiny percentage points can save lives, so it’s imperative to find out if vitamins really make a difference.
The researchers called for a comprehensive clinical trial to test potential effects in a more controlled setting. For now, if you still do not receive a vaccine, masks, good hygiene and social distance will keep you much safer than any vitamin.
“This study was not primarily designed to answer questions about the role of nutritional supplements in COVID-19,” says Sumantra Ray, a Cambridge nutritionist who was not involved in the study.
This is still an emerging field of research that justifies a rigorous study before firm conclusions can be drawn as to whether specific nutritional supplements could reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.
The research was published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.