REVIEW - Vitamin D for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases

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Endocr Pract. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 April 15.

Published in final edited form as:

Endocr Pract. 2009 Jul–Aug; 15(5): 438–449.

doi: 10.4158/EP09101.ORR.

VITAMIN D FOR TREATMENT AND PREVENTION Of INFECTIOUS DISEASES: A

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

andra V. Yamshchikov, MD,1 Nirali S. Desai, MD,2 Henry M.

Blumberg, MD,1,4 R. Ziegler, MD,3,4 and Vin Tangpricha, MD,

PhD, FACE3,4

1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory

University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

2Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

3Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipids, Department of

Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

4Center for Clinical and Molecular Nutrition, Department of Medicine,

Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Abstract

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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Read the full article here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855046/

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