Vitamin D Deficiency or Supplementation and the Risk of Human Herpesvirus Infections or Reactivation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials and observational studies
PubMed 33511224 · doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa570
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 6 databases and 4 gray literature databases searched for cohort studies, case-control studies, and clinical trials examining vitamin D deficiency or supplementation and the risk of 8 human herpesviruses.
What was found
Ten studies were included, all in immunosuppressed cohorts. Vitamin D deficiency was not associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease (pooled risk ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.66-1.7), post-transplant herpes zoster (1 study), or HHV-8 in HIV patients (1 study). Supplementation was reported to decrease herpes zoster in hemodialysis patients (1 study) and CMV disease after renal transplantation (1 study), but showed no association with reduced EBV viral load in multiple sclerosis patients (1 study).
Why it matters
Despite proposed antiviral roles for vitamin D, the clinical evidence does not confirm a consistent association between vitamin D status or supplementation and human herpesvirus outcomes.
Limits
All 10 included studies were conducted exclusively in immunosuppressed populations, limiting generalizability to the general public. Most outcomes were evaluated in single studies rather than meta-analyzed pools, and total participant numbers were not reported in the abstract.
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