According to a report in the Daily Mail, another study conducted by University of East Anglia and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust researchers concluded that there is link between low vitamin D levels and the spread of COVID-19 and mortality rates.

The researchers studied the average levels of vitamin D reported in 20 European countries and then compared it with the country’s infection and mortality rate for COVID-19.

The researchers found enough of a correlation to state:

‘We believe, that we can advise vitamin D supplementation to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection.’

If this connection is valid, it may explain why the elderly are among those most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Vitamin D testing conducted of thousands of people across Europe by researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam discovered that the elderly, particularly those in nursing homes, had some of the lowest deficiencies for vitamin D.

The study set 59nmol/L levels of vitamin D as average and levels at 30nmol/L or lower as “severely deficient.”

The researchers reported that people in Swiss nursing homes averaged levels of 23nmol/L, Spanish nursing homes averaged 26nmol/L and Italian nursing homes 28nmol/L.

Vitamin D is created in the human body by sunlight that converts cholesterol into vitamin D. It can also be obtained through food and supplements.

Typically, our levels of vitamin D drop off over the winter months, which also corresponds with the flu season.

READ: People with low levels of Vitamin D may be more likely to catch coronavirus and die from COVID-19 infection, study suggests