Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33593830›Full record

SynthesisClinical medicine (London, England)2021

Perspective: Vitamin D supplementation prevents rickets and acute respiratory infections when given as daily maintenance but not as intermittent bolus: implications for COVID-19.

George Griffin, Martin Hewison, Julian Hopkin, Rose Anne Kenny, Richard Quinton, Jonathan Rhodes, Sreedhar Subramanian, David Thickett

Registry-linked trialOpen access · diamondAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical medicine (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04810949 (Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on the Development of Respiratory Infections), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
9.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04810949 naterminatednot on this map

Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on the Development of Respiratory Infections (COVID-19) in Health Personnel at Hospital Clínica NOVA With Serum Values> 20ng / ml

TypeinterventionalSponsorHospital Clinica NovaRan2020 to 2021Enrolled41ConditionsCovid19, Influenza A, Influenza B, H1N1 InfluenzaArmsVitamine D3 supplementation, Diet and sun exposure
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. The Effect of Bolus Vitamin DJournal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2021
    Trial
  8. Vitamin DFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. What do we know about micronutrients in critically ill patients? A narrative review.JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition · 2025
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

George GriffinSt George's, University of London, London, UK.
Martin HewisonUniversity of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Julian HopkinSwansea University, Swansea, UK.
Rose Anne KennyTrinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Richard QuintonNewcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Jonathan RhodesUniversity of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK rhodesjm@liverpool.ac.uk.
Sreedhar SubramanianRoyal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
David ThickettUniversity of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
University of Birmingham · GBUniversity of Liverpool · GBNewcastle University · GBSt George's, University of London · GBSwansea University · GBTrinity College Dublin · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The value of vitamin D supplementation in the treatment or prevention of various conditions is often viewed with scepticism as a result of contradictory results of randomised trials. It is now becoming apparent that there is a pattern to these inconsistencies. A recent large trial has shown that high-dose intermittent bolus vitamin D therapy is ineffective at preventing rickets - the condition that is most unequivocally caused by vitamin D deficiency. There is a plausible biological explanation since high-dose bolus replacement induces long-term expression of the catabolic enzyme 24-hydroxylase and fibroblast growth factor 23, both of which have vitamin D inactivating effects. Meta-analyses of vitamin D supplementation in prevention of acute respiratory infection and trials in tuberculosis and other conditions also support efficacy of low dose daily maintenance rather than intermittent bolus dosing. This is particularly relevant during the current COVID-19 pandemic given the well-documented associations between COVID-19 risk and vitamin D deficiency. We would urge that clinicians take note of these findings and give strong support to widespread use of daily vitamin D supplementation.

Indexed as

COVID-19Dietary SupplementsRespiratory Tract InfectionsRicketsVitamin DVitamin D DeficiencyHumansPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Vitamin DCOVID-19dosingefficacymaintenancevitamin D

Identifiers

PMID33593830
PMCPMC8002781
OpenAlexW3129431828

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.