| dc.description.abstract | Vitamin D status and COVID 19 in Lebanon among adults AL Lababidi. F1, Filali. S2, Haakon E. Meyer1,3, Ahmed A Madar1. 1 Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 2 Hammoud Hospital Medical Center, Lebanon 3 Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Norway Abstract Background: The current COVID 19 pandemic has affected almost every nation in the world and led to the development of respiratory tract symptoms. Vitamin D has been proposed to play an important role, especially in upper respiratory tract infections. Recently, numerous studies and reports associating low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (s-25(OH)D) levels and adverse outcomes in COVID 19 have also emerged. Therefore, we aimed to assess the association between Vitamin D status and COVID 19 among adults in Lebanon. Method: This is a cross-sectional study where the participants were recruited from one of the largest university hospitals in south Lebanon. The participants (n 384) aged 18-75 years who came to the hospital to perform a COVID 19 test were asked for their participation. Background variables were collected with a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for s-25(OH)D concentration using Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, and COVID 19 was tested. Results: The mean s-25(OH)D was 46.8 (SD 28.1), with no significant difference between men and women. Almost 63% of women and men had Vitamin D insufficiency (s-25(OH)D <50 nmol/L). Furthermore, 28 % of the participants had positive PCR results. There was no significant association between s-25(OH)D levels and PCR results ((OR = 0.982, 95% CI: 0.961-1.004), p=0.10)). Adjustment for sociodemographic factors did not alter the results. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of Vitamin D insufficiency among adults participating in COVID 19 test hospital in Lebanon, and it was not associated with COVID 19. Further research is required to investigate the health consequences of poor s-25(OH)D status for this population. | eng |