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Effects of a 2-Week 5000 IU versus 1000 IU Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Recovery of Symptoms in Patients with Mild to Moderate Covid-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Sabico, S, Enani, MA, Sheshah, E, Aljohani, NJ, Aldisi, DA, Alotaibi, NH, Alshingetti, N, Alomar, SY, Alnaami, AM, Amer, OE, et al
Nutrients. 2021;13(7)
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A highly contagious virus called SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. Vitamin D adjuvant therapy has been identified as a promising strategy for reducing the severity of Covid-19 outcomes in the elderly. Also, a low Vitamin D status significantly correlates with Covid-19 severity. This multi-centre randomised, open-label clinical trial evaluated the beneficial effects of 5000 IU versus 1000 IU Vitamin D3 daily supplementation for two weeks on recovery of symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 and suboptimal Vitamin D status. Thirty-six Covid-19 patients received 5000 IU Vitamin D3 daily, and thirty-three Covid-19 patients received 1000 IU Vitamin D3 daily. The 5000 IU Vitamin D3 group was significantly younger and had a significantly lower BMI than the 1000 IU Vitamin D3 group. The 5000 IU Vitamin D3 group showed significant improvements in the severity of the Covid-19 symptoms compared to the 1000 IU Vitamin D3 group. Further robust studies are needed to evaluate the effects of Vitamin D3 supplementation in patients with high BMI, severe Covid-19 symptoms, and prevention of Covid-19. Healthcare professionals can use the results of this study to understand the effects of different doses of Vitamin D3 supplements in patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 symptoms and suboptimal Vitamin D status.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 severity. This multi-center randomized clinical trial aims to determine the effects of 5000 IU versus 1000 IU daily oral vitamin D3 supplementation in the recovery of symptoms and other clinical parameters among mild to moderate COVID-19 patients with sub-optimal vitamin D status. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING A total of 69 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 positive adults who were hospitalized for mild to moderate COVID-19 disease were allocated to receive once daily for 2 weeks either 5000 IU oral vitamin D3 (n = 36, 21 males; 15 females) or 1000 IU oral vitamin D3 (standard control) (n = 33, 13 males; 20 females). Anthropometrics were measured and blood samples were taken pre- and post-supplementation. Fasting blood glucose, lipids, serum 25(OH)D, and inflammatory markers were measured. COVID-19 symptoms were noted on admission and monitored until full recovery. RESULTS Vitamin D supplementation for 2 weeks caused a significant increase in serum 25(OH)D levels in the 5000 IU group only (adjusted p = 0.003). Within-group comparisons also showed a significant decrease in BMI and IL-6 levels overtime in both groups (p-values < 0.05) but was not clinically significant in between-group comparisons. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the 5000 IU group had a significantly shorter time to recovery (days) than the 1000 IU group in resolving cough, even after adjusting for age, sex, baseline BMI, and D-dimer (6.2 ± 0.8 versus 9.1 ± 0.8; p = 0.039), and ageusia (loss of taste) (11.4 ± 1.0 versus 16.9 ± 1.7; p = 0.035). CONCLUSION A 5000 IU daily oral vitamin D3 supplementation for 2 weeks reduces the time to recovery for cough and gustatory sensory loss among patients with sub-optimal vitamin D status and mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The use of 5000 IU vitamin D3 as an adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients with suboptimal vitamin D status, even for a short duration, is recommended.
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Effect of sleep duration on dietary intake, desire to eat, measures of food intake and metabolic hormones: A systematic review of clinical trials.
Soltanieh, S, Solgi, S, Ansari, M, Santos, HO, Abbasi, B
Clinical nutrition ESPEN. 2021;45:55-65
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Adequate sleep is crucial to health. Yet, sleep disturbances have become very common in modern societies. A lack of sleep is linked to increased risk for several chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, appetite-regulating hormones can be disrupted by sleep shortages, which is thought to drive chronic overeating, leading to weight gain, obesity and its associated health consequences. This review examined the relationship between sleep duration and food consumption and energy intake, whilst also monitoring changes in body weight and appetite-regulating hormones. The review encompassed 50 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 3387 participants, including 1079 children and adolescents and 2308 adults. The findings suggested that sleep shortages contribute to significant increases in calorie intake, fat intake, increased body weight, appetite, hunger, more frequent eating and bigger portion sizes. In this review lack of sleep did not change protein and carbohydrate intake. Nor did lack of sleep make people exert more or less energy overall, however, a variance amongst ethnic groups was observed here. There was not enough evidence for changes in metabolic rate, so the review assumed no significant effect. When viewed collectively, the appetite-regulating hormones of leptin and ghrelin, the stress hormone cortisol and the sugar-regulating hormone insulin were not significantly influenced by sleep duration. However, there seemed to be a wide variance of outcomes when looking at individual studies' results. In conclusion, the authors reiterated the importance of sleep for health maintenance, advocating for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per day for adults and that, despite busy modern lifestyles, sleep optimisation strategies should be prioritised. Less than 6 hours of sleep per day increases the risk of health consequences, like weight gain and metabolic disorders and sleep management should be considered part of their treatment protocols.
Expert Review
Conflicts of interest:
None
Take Home Message:
- Reduced sleep duration may serve as a mediator for weight gain in part due to increased appetite, increased fat intake and disruptions to energy balance.
- Enhancing sleep quality may serve to support weight loss protocols.
Evidence Category:
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A: Meta-analyses, position-stands, randomized-controlled trials (RCTs)
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X
B: Systematic reviews including RCTs of limited number
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C: Non-randomized trials, observational studies, narrative reviews
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D: Case-reports, evidence-based clinical findings
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E: Opinion piece, other
Summary Review:
Introduction
Short sleep duration and disruptions to circadian rhythm have been associated with being overweight and obese. It has been suggested that sleep restriction may interfere with appetite regulating hormones leading to increased appetite and disrupted energy balance.
This study aimed to systematically review studies exploring the relationship between sleep duration and food consumption, energy intake, anthropometric characteristics and appetite-regulating hormones.
Methods
This systematic review included 50 randomised controlled trials including 3,387 participants.
Results
Energy intake
- 13 out of 30 the included studies found that short sleep conditions led to higher energy intake.
- 1 study identified that sleep restriction resulted in a 15.3% and 9.2% increase in energy intake in both women and men.
- 3 studies noted that prolonging sleep duration led to a reduction in energy intake.
- 1 study reported a reduction in energy intake after sleep restriction (P=0.031).
Fat consumption
- 9 studies out of 22 identified a significant association between short sleep and increased fat consumption.
- 7 studies did not identify a difference between groups.
- 3 studies noted a decrease in fat consumption following prolonged sleep (P<0.001, P<0.05, P=0.04).
Hunger and appetite
- 11 studies out of 17 observed that sleep restriction resulted in increased hunger ratings.
- 3 studies found an increase in appetite following sleep restriction (P<0.01) with 3 finding no difference..
- 1 study reported a decrease in appetite following sleep restriction.
- 2 studies noted that portion sizes increased as a result of sleep restriction (P<0.01).
- 1 study reported an increase in eating occasions following restricted sleep compared to habitual sleep (6.08 vs 4.96).
Body weight
- 6 studies out of 14 found no effect of sleep loss on body weight.
- 4 studies identified that sleep restriction led to weight gain (P<0.001, P<0.05, P=0.14, P=0.031).
- 2 studies reported weight loss following increased sleep duration (P<0.001).
Ghrelin and leptin
- Leptin and ghrelin levels were generally not found to be influenced by sleep duration, with the exception of a few studies.
Clinical practice applications:
Reduced sleep duration may promote weight gain by:
- Increasing energy intake.
- Increasing fat consumption.
- Increasing hunger and appetite.
- Increasing portion sizes and eating occasions.
Prolonging sleep duration may support weight loss by:
- Reducing energy intake.
- Reducing fat intake.
Considerations for future research:
- Mixed results on the influence of sleep restriction on appetite regulating hormones, leptin and ghrelin.
- Some studies noted the negative impact of sleep restriction on leptin and ghrelin concentrations, collectively shortened sleep duration did not appear to influence these hormones.
- Further sleep restriction studies exploring additional appetite regulating hormones and neuropeptides and the reward system may provide a more definitive understanding of the underlying mechanism for reduced sleep duration to disrupt the appetite and energy balance and promote weight gain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Sleep, as well as diet and physical activity, plays a significant role in growth, maturation, health, and regulation of energy homeostasis. Recently, there is increasing evidence indicating a possible causal association between sleep duration and energy balance. We aimed to examine the relationship between sleep duration and food consumption, energy intake, anthropometric characteristics, and appetite-regulating hormones by randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS Electronic literature searches were conducted on Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar until July 2020. The search was conducted with the following words: "Sleep Duration", "Circadian Rhythm", "Sleep Disorders" in combination with "Obesity", "Overweight", "Abdominal Obesity", "Physical Activity", "Energy Intake", "Body Mass Index", "Lipid Metabolism", "Caloric Restriction", Leptin, "Weight Gain", and "Appetite Regulation" using human studies.methods RESULTS After screening 708 abstracts, 50 RCTs (7 on children or adolescents and 43 on adults) were identified and met the inclusion criteria. In general, the findings suggested that sleep restriction may leads to a significant increment in energy intake, fat intake, body weight, appetite, hunger, eating occasions, and portion size, while protein and carbohydrate consumption, total energy expenditure, and respiratory quotient remained unaffected as a result of sleep restriction. Serum leptin, ghrelin, and cortisol concentrations were not influenced by sleep duration as well. CONCLUSION Insufficient sleep can be considered as a contributing factor for energy imbalance, weight gain, and metabolic disorders and it is suggested that to tackle disordered eating it may be necessary to pay more attention to sleep duration.
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Clinical Impact of Supplementation of Vitamins B1 and C on Patients with Sepsis-Related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Yoo, JW, Kim, RB, Ju, S, Lee, SJ, Cho, YJ, Jeong, YY, Lee, JD, Kim, HC
Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases. 2020;83(3):248-254
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition that commonly develops in patients with sepsis. Patients with ARDS require admission to intensive care and invasive mechanical ventilation. Vitamin B1 and C deficiencies have been reported in critically ill patients with sepsis. Vitamin B1 is involved in aerobic metabolism, and vitamin C has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. The aim of this Korean retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the clinical impact of vitamin B1 and C supplementation in patients with sepsis-related ARDS. Patients with ARDS requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) were included in this study. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients administered with vitamin B1 (200 mg/day) and C (2 g/day) between June 2018-May 2019 (the supplementation group) and those who did not receive vitamin B1 and C administration between June 2017-May 2018 (the control group). Seventy-nine patients were included. Thirty-three patients received vitamin B1 and C, and 46 patients did not. There were no significant differences in the number of deaths between the patients who received vitamin B1 and C and those who did not. The mean number of days not requiring ICU admission or ventilation was greater in patients supplemented with vitamin B1 and C than that in the control patients, but the difference was not statistically significant. Steroid administration was more frequent in patients receiving vitamin B1 and C supplementation than in those without it. The authors concluded that Vitamin B1 and C supplementation at the doses used in this study did not reduce the death rates in ARDS patients.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although few studies have reported improved clinical outcomes with the administration of vitamin B1 and C in critically ill patients with septic shock or severe pneumonia, its clinical impact on patients with sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association with vitamin B and C supplementation and clinical outcomes in patients with ARDS. METHODS Patients with ARDS requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) were included in this study. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients administered with vitamin B1 (200 mg/day) and C (2 g/day) June 2018-May 2019 (the supplementation group) and those who did not receive vitamin B1 and C administration June 2017-May 2018 (the control group). RESULTS Seventy-nine patients were included. Thirty-three patients received vitamin B1 and C whereas 46 patients did not. Steroid administration was more frequent in patients receiving vitamin B1 and C supplementation than in those without it. There were no significant differences in the mortality between the patients who received vitamin B1 and C and those who did not. There were not significant differences in ventilator and ICU-free days between each of the 21 matched patients. CONCLUSION Vitamin B1 and C supplementation was not associated with reduced mortality rates, and ventilator and ICU-free days in patients with sepsis-related ARDS requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.
4.
Vitamin C levels in patients with SARS-CoV-2-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Chiscano-Camón, L, Ruiz-Rodriguez, JC, Ruiz-Sanmartin, A, Roca, O, Ferrer, R
Critical care (London, England). 2020;24(1):522
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Sepsis related acute respiratory disease (ARDS) is associated with Covid-19. ARDS patients can present with decreased levels of vitamin C and so by association Covid-19 patients may also have low vitamin C levels. In this cohort study, 18 Covid-19 ARDS patients of which all survived were assessed for vitamin C levels. 17 patients had undetectable levels of vitamin C and one had low levels. It was concluded that more than 90% of the patients in this study had undetectable levels of vitamin C, which may be due to several reasons, such as reduced absorption of vitamin C in the gut and decreased production. Clinicians could use this study to understand the importance of monitoring vitamin C levels in patients with Covid-19.
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Meditation or exercise for preventing acute respiratory infection (MEPARI-2): A randomized controlled trial.
Barrett, B, Hayney, MS, Muller, D, Rakel, D, Brown, R, Zgierska, AE, Barlow, S, Hayer, S, Barnet, JH, Torres, ER, et al
PloS one. 2018;13(6):e0197778
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Susceptibility to acute respiratory infection (ARI), including the common cold and flu, have been shown to be influenced by psychological, social and behavioural factors. Given these previous associations, the aim of this study was to determine the preventive effects of meditation and exercise on ARI illness. This randomised controlled trial allocated 390 participants to one of three parallel groups either receiving 8-week training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), 8-week training in moderate intensity exercise or observational control. ARI symptoms were assessed daily and various psychosocial factors were assessed at baseline and 4 times after the intervention. Blood and nasal wash samples were assessed with each ARI episode as well as at baseline, 1-month and 4-month post-intervention. This study found significant reductions in ARI illness incidence, duration and severity for participants in the MBSR group compared with controls. While this was also true for the exercise group, results were not as significant suggesting a slight advantage of mindfulness over exercise. Based on these results, the authors conclude both mindfulness and exercise should be encouraged and further research be conducted to better understand the benefits of these activities in sick populations.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Practice of meditation or exercise may enhance health to protect against acute infectious illness. OBJECTIVE To assess preventive effects of meditation and exercise on acute respiratory infection (ARI) illness. DESIGN Randomized controlled prevention trial with three parallel groups. SETTING Madison, Wisconsin, USA. PARTICIPANTS Community-recruited adults who did not regularly exercise or meditate. METHODS 1) 8-week behavioral training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR); 2) matched 8-week training in moderate intensity sustained exercise (EX); or 3) observational waitlist control. Training classes occurred in September and October, with weekly ARI surveillance through May. Incidence, duration, and area-under-curve ARI global severity were measured using daily reports on the WURSS-24 during ARI illness. Viruses were identified multiplex PCR. Absenteeism, health care utilization, and psychosocial health self-report assessments were also employed. RESULTS Of 413 participants randomized, 390 completed the trial. In the MBSR group, 74 experienced 112 ARI episodes with 1045 days of ARI illness. Among exercisers, 84 had 120 episodes totaling 1010 illness days. Eighty-two of the controls had 134 episodes with 1210 days of ARI illness. Mean global severity was 315 for MBSR (95% confidence interval 244, 386), 256 (193, 318) for EX, and 336 (268, 403) for controls. A prespecified multivariate zero-inflated regression model suggested reduced incidence for MBSR (p = 0.036) and lower global severity for EX (p = 0.042), compared to control, not quite attaining the p<0.025 prespecified cut-off for null hypothesis rejection. There were 73 ARI-related missed-work days and 22 ARI-related health care visits in the MBSR group, 82 days and 21 visits for exercisers, and 105 days and 24 visits among controls. Viruses were identified in 63 ARI episodes in the MBSR group, compared to 64 for EX and 72 for control. Statistically significant (p<0.05) improvements in general mental health, self-efficacy, mindful attention, sleep quality, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were observed in the MBSR and/or EX groups, compared to control. CONCLUSIONS Training in mindfulness meditation or exercise may help protect against ARI illness. LIMITATIONS This trial was likely underpowered. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01654289.