ReviewDrugs in context2021
Vitamins, supplements and COVID-19: a review of currently available evidence.
Review in Drugs in context, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The effect of adherence to high-quality dietary pattern on COVID-19 outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of medical virology · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of l-Arginine Plus Vitamin C Supplementation on l-Arginine Metabolism in Adults with Long COVID: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Trial
- Prevalence of self-medication with vitamin or mineral supplements in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC nutrition · 2025Article
- Vitamin D and COVID-19: Clinical Evidence and Immunological Insights.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- NBS superfood: a promising adjunctive therapy in critically ill ICU patients with omicron variant of COVID-19.AMB Express · 2024Article
- The association between interest of nutritional supplements and COVID-19 pandemic - evidence from Google Trends.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Is Dietary (Food) Supplement Intake Reported in European National Nutrition Surveys?Nutrients · 2023Review
- Mechanism and treatment of olfactory dysfunction caused by coronavirus disease 2019.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- The Effect of Vit-D Supplementation on the Side Effect of BioNTech, Pfizer Vaccination and Immunoglobulin G Response Against SARS-CoV-2 in the Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19: A Randomized Control Trial.Clinical nutrition research · 2023Article
- Effect of educational intervention on knowledge and attitude about the role of vitamins, minerals and nutraceuticals in COVID-19 and other disorders among medical and nursing undergraduates of a tertiary care teaching hospital.Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2023Article
- Importance of Magnesium Status in COVID-19.Biology · 2023Review
- Article
- Relationship between Plasma Levels of Zinc and Magnesium with the Treatment Process and Mortality Risk in COVID-19 Patients.Tanaffos · 2023Article
- Vitamin D Supply of Multivitamins Commercialized Online by Amazon in Western and Southern Europe: A Labeling Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Practice and knowledge of dietary supplement consumption among Indonesian adults post-delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.F1000Research · 2023Article
- Machine learning-driven development of a disease risk score for COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality: a Swedish and Norwegian register-based study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Vitamin D Deficiency in Both Oral and Systemic Manifestations in SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Updated Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
- Effects of vitamin C and D on the mRNA expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor, cathepsin L, and transmembrane serine protease in the mouse lungs.The Libyan journal of medicine · 2022Article
- Impact of Zinc, Vitamins C and D on Disease Prognosis among Patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an information overload of health data (both accurate and inaccurate) available to the public. With vitamins and supplements being readily accessible, many have turned to using them in an effort to combat the virus. The purpose of this review was to analyse clinical trials regarding vitamins and supplements for the treatment of COVID-19 infections.
methodsArticles were identified through a literature search utilizing online databases and bibliographic review.
resultsA total of seven articles were identified for review. All articles evaluated the use of vitamins and supplements for the treatment of COVID-19. Drug therapies included oral vitamin D, intravenous and oral vitamin C, oral vitamin D/magnesium/vitamin B12, oral zinc, oral combination zinc/ascorbic acid, and intravenous alpha-lipoic acid. The end points of each study varied, including the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, mortality, rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, negativity of COVID-19 tests, oxygen requirements, and symptom burden.
conclusionOf the vitamins and supplements that were studied, vitamin D presented the most promising data demonstrating significant decreases in oxygen requirements, need for ICU treatment, SARS-CoV-2 RNA test positivity, and mortality. All of these benefits were exhibited in hospitalized patients. Other vitamins and supplements that were evaluated in studies did not demonstrate any statistically significant benefits. Common shortcomings of the articles included generally small sample sizes, varying sites of study (which could determine the virus variant), a lack of standard of care as background therapy, and utilization of doses that were higher than standard.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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.