Vitamin D for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Open accessAbstract
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, and 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.
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Supplementation with vitamin D can protect against respiratory tract infections and reduce the risk of acute respiratory illness and influenza, especially with once-daily dosing.
“Supplementation with vitamin D can protect against respiratory tract infections and reduce the risk of acute respiratory illness and influenza, especially with once-daily dosing [112,113,114,115].”
From Immune function and micronutrient requirements change over the life course (2018) · cites this paper as [112]
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- Authors
- Yamshchikov, A. V., Desai, N. S., Blumberg, H. M., Ziegler, T. R., & Tangpricha, V.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Yamshchikov, Alexandra V.
- Venue
- Endocrine Practice
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-07
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 438-449
- ISSN
- 1530-891X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2855046
- OpenAlex
- W2055395401
- Cited by
- 307
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 3.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Endocrine Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000454)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (T32DK007298)
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (K23AR054334)
- National Center for Research Resources (K24RR023356)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Vitamin D Research Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune responses and vaccinations
- Keywords
- vitamin D, vitamin D supplementation, infectious diseases, adjunctive therapy, tuberculosis, influenza, viral upper respiratory tract infection, vitamin D deficiency, immune response to infection, adverse events, clinical trial design
- MeSH terms
- Communicable Diseases, Humans, Vitamin D, Vitamin D Deficiency, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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