After more than 9,000 tests, we realized that the Portuguese population had hereditary attributes that incline them to vitamin D deficiency, which may account for why practically 70% of our population is vitamin D lacking. We chose to examine the association between polygenic threat ratings for polymorphisms in vitamin D-related genes, vitamin D deficiency, and COVID-19 severity based on previous proof of an association in between vitamin D status and COVID-19 death rates.2 A higher occurrence of one specific variant of the GC gene in Portuguese individuals versus Europeans likely contributes to the observed occurrence of vitamin D deficiency.What are possible applications of this work?This work highlights the important role of serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D-binding protein in SARS-CoV-2 infection and has ramifications for novel SARS-CoV-2 biomarker discovery. A.T. Freitas et al., “Vitamin D-related polymorphisms and vitamin D levels as threat biomarkers of COVID-19 illness severity,” Sci Rep, 11:20837, 2021.2.
Freitas and her team compared these polygenic danger ratings to serum vitamin D levels and COVID-19 disease intensity in almost 500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Portugal. After more than 9,000 tests, we realized that the Portuguese population had hereditary characteristics that predispose them to vitamin D deficiency, which might account for why almost 70% of our population is vitamin D lacking. We chose to analyze the association in between polygenic danger scores for polymorphisms in vitamin D-related genes, vitamin D shortage, and COVID-19 severity based on previous evidence of an association between vitamin D status and COVID-19 mortality rates.2 A greater prevalence of one particular version of the GC gene in Portuguese people versus Europeans most likely contributes to the observed frequency of vitamin D deficiency.What are possible applications of this work?This work highlights the crucial function of serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D-binding protein in SARS-CoV-2 infection and has implications for unique SARS-CoV-2 biomarker discovery. Vitamin D levels and the GC gene variant can be included as part of a composite rating for predicting COVID-19 seriousness, along with other candidate biomarkers. A.T. Freitas et al., “Vitamin D-related polymorphisms and vitamin D levels as threat biomarkers of COVID-19 illness seriousness,” Sci Rep, 11:20837, 2021.2.
