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All Studies   Meta Analysis    Recent:   
0 0.5 1 1.5 2+ Case 0% Improvement Relative Risk Vitamin C for COVID-19  Louca et al.  Prophylaxis Does vitamin C reduce COVID-19 infections? Retrospective 372,720 patients in the United Kingdom No significant difference in cases c19early.org Louca et al., BMJ Nutrition, Preventio.., Nov 2020 Favors vitamin C Favors control

Modest effects of dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from 445 850 users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app

Louca et al., BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, doi:10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000250 (date from preprint)
Nov 2020  
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Vitamin C for COVID-19
7th treatment shown to reduce risk in September 2020
 
*, now known with p = 0.00000011 from 68 studies, recognized in 10 countries.
No treatment is 100% effective. Protocols combine complementary and synergistic treatments. * >10% efficacy in meta analysis with ≥3 clinical studies.
3,900+ studies for 60+ treatments. c19early.org
Survey analysis of dietary supplements showing no significant difference in PCR+ cases with vitamin C usage in the UK, however significant reductions were found in the US and Sweden. These results are for PCR+ cases only, they do not reflect potential benefits for reducing the severity of cases. A number of biases could affect the results, for example users of the app may not be representative of the general population, and people experiencing symptoms may be more likely to install and use the app.
Meta analysis of all vitamin C studies shows benefit for clinical outcomes but not for viral or case outcomes, consistent with an intervention that may have limited or no direct antiviral effect, but minimizes progression via other mechanisms (for example by aiding the immune system, minimizing immune over-activation, minizing secondary complications, or aiding recovery).
This is the 6th of 68 COVID-19 controlled studies for vitamin C, which collectively show efficacy with p=0.00000011.
19 studies are RCTs, which show efficacy with p=0.0021.
Study covers probiotics, zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D.
risk of case, no change, RR 1.00, p = 1.00, odds ratio converted to relative risk, United Kingdom, all adjustment model.
Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates
Louca et al., 30 Nov 2020, retrospective, United Kingdom, peer-reviewed, 26 authors.
This PaperVitamin CAll
Modest effects of dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from 445 850 users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app
Panayiotis Louca, Benjamin Murray, Kerstin Klaser, Mark S Graham, Mohsen Mazidi, Emily R Leeming, Ellen Thompson, Ruth Bowyer, David A Drew, Long H Nguyen, Jordi Merino, Maria Gomez, Olatz Mompeo, Ricardo Costeira, Carole H Sudre, Rachel Gibson, Claire J Steves, Jonathan Wolf, Paul W Franks, Sebastien Ourselin, Andrew T Chan, Sarah E Berry, Ana M Valdes, Philip C Calder, Tim D Spector, Dr Cristina Menni
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, doi:10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000250
Objectives Dietary supplements may ameliorate SARS-CoV-2 infection, although scientific evidence to support such a role is lacking. We investigated whether users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app who regularly took dietary supplements were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design App-based community survey. Setting 445 850 subscribers of an app that was launched to enable self-reported information related to SARS-CoV-2 infection for use in the general population in the UK (n=372 720), the USA (n=45 757) and Sweden (n=27 373). Main exposure Self-reported regular dietary supplement usage (constant use during previous 3 months) in the first waves of the pandemic up to 31 July 2020. Main outcome measures SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by viral RNA reverse transcriptase PCR test or serology test before 31 July 2020. Results In 372 720 UK participants (175 652 supplement users and 197 068 non-users), those taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins or vitamin D had a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by 14% (95% CI (8% to 19%)), 12% (95% CI (8% to 16%)), 13% (95% CI (10% to 16%)) and 9% (95% CI (6% to 12%)), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders. No effect was observed for those taking vitamin C, zinc or garlic supplements. On stratification by sex, age and body mass index (BMI), the protective associations in individuals taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins and vitamin D were observed in females across all ages and BMI groups, but were not seen in men. The same overall pattern of association was observed in both the US and Swedish cohorts. Conclusion In women, we observed a modest but significant association between use of probiotics, omega-3 fatty acid, multivitamin or vitamin D supplements and lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. We found no clear benefits for men nor any effect of vitamin C, garlic or zinc. Randomised controlled trials are required to confirm these observational findings before any therapeutic recommendations can be made.
PL is funded by the CDRF, SO is funded by the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Medical Engineering (WT203148/Z/16/Z), Wellcome Flagship Programme (WT213038/ Z/18/Z), and PCC is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre. We express our sincere thanks to all the participants of the COVID Symptom Study app including study volunteers enrolled in cohorts within the Coronavirus Pandemic Epidemiology (COPE) consortium. We thank the staff of Zoe Global Limited, the Department of Twin Research at King's College London, the Clinical & Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Researchers and staff at Lund University in Sweden for their tireless work in contributing to the running of the study and data collection. Contributors Funding acquisition: JW, TDS. Conceptualisation: CM, TDS. Formal analysis: BM, PL, KK, CM. Data curation: BM, MG. Resources: MSG, RB, MM, ERL, OM, ET, RC, CJS, SO, SEB, DAD, LHN, JM, MG, PWF, ATC, RG, CHS. Wrote original draft: PL, AMV, PCC, CM. Revised the manuscript: all. CM and TDS are responsible for the overall content as guarantors. The guarantors accept full responsibility for the work and/or the conduct of the study, had access to the data and controlled the decision to publish. The manuscript's guarantors affirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted and that any..
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