Abstract
Vitamin D has many effects on cells in the immune system. Many studies have linked low vitamin D status with severity of COVID-19. Genetic variants involved in vitamin D metabolism have been implicated as potential risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. This study investigated how genetic variations in humans affected the clinical presentation of COVID-19. In total, 646 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were divided into two groups: noncritical COVID-19 (n = 453; 70.12%) and a critical group (n = 193; 29.87%). Genotype data on the GC, NADSYN1, VDR, and CYP2R1 genes along with data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were compiled in patients admitted to a major hospital in the United Arab Emirates between April 2020 and January 2021. We identified 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the critical COVID-19 condition: rs59241277, rs113574864, rs182901986, rs60349934, and rs113876500; rs4944076, rs4944997, rs4944998, rs4944979, and rs10898210; and rs11574018 and rs11574024. We report significant associations between genetic determinants of vitamin D metabolism and COVID-19 severity in the UAE population. Further research needed to clarify the mechanism of action against viral infection in vitamin D deficiency. These variants could be used with vaccination to manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and could be particularly valuable in populations in which vitamin D deficiency is common.
RAS ID
42647
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2021
Volume
13
Issue
11
Funding Information
Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research Zayed University, Research Office, United Arab Emirates
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publisher
MDPI
Comments
Al-Anouti, F., Mousa, M., Karras, S. N., Grant, W. B., Alhalwachi, Z., Abdel-Wareth, L., . . . AlSafar, H. (2021). Associations between genetic variants in the vitamin d metabolism pathway and severity of covid-19 among UAE residents. Nutrients, 13(11), article 3680. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113680