{"id":722,"date":"2026-01-21T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?p=722"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:27:42","slug":"vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-respiratory-infection-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-respiratory-infection-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitamin D deficiency linked to respiratory infection risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher\u00a0rate of hospitalisation for respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, according to a new study involving scientists from the University of Reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists found that those with a severe deficiency (below 15\u00a0nnmol\/L) were 33 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital for treatment than those with sufficient levels of vitamin D(at least\u00a075nmol\/L).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the largest study of its kind,\u00a0analysing\u00a0NHS\u00a0data from the\u00a0UK Biobank,\u00a0researchers from Surrey,\u00a0in collaboration with the University of\u00a0Reading\u00a0and University of\u00a0Oxford, investigated\u00a0the association between vitamin D status and the\u00a0rate\u00a0of hospitalisation due to respiratory tract infections.\u00a0Middle and older-aged adults are at a\u00a0high risk\u00a0of developing respiratory tract infections, with lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) ranking amongst the top 20 leading causes of mortality globally for individuals aged 50-74 years and in the top 10 for those aged 75 years and older.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Julie Lovegrove, co-author from the\u00a0<\/span>Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition,\u00a0<\/span>University of Reading, said: \u201cOur findings show a<\/span>n important<\/span> link between vitamin D levels and hospital admissions for respiratory infections. Given that many people fall short of recommended intakes, this\u00a0<\/span>highlights <\/span>the need for better public awareness about\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>necessity <\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>adequate\u00a0<\/span>vitamin D\u00a0<\/span>intake\u00a0<\/span>and its\u00a0<\/span>potential\u00a0<\/span>role in supporting our immune system.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Ian Givens, co-author from the University of Reading, said: \u201cThis research highlights the importance of adequate vitamin D intake, particularly during winter months when sunlight exposure is limited. Simple dietary changes, such as consuming fortified foods or taking supplements, could make a real difference to people’s health.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Examining data from 36,258\u00a0participants from the UK Biobank,\u00a0the\u00a0researchers found that those with severe vitamin D deficiency (below 15nmol\/L) had a\u00a033 percent higher rate of hospitalisation for a respiratory tract infection, compared to those who had vitamin D\u00a0levels of\u00a075nmol\/L or greater.\u00a0Scientists also found that for each 10 nmol\/L\u00a0<\/span>higher<\/span>\u00a0vitamin D, the hospitalisation rate for respiratory tract infections\u00a0<\/span>was<\/span>\u00a0four percent<\/span>\u00a0lower<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study was published today (Wednesday, 21\u00a0January,\u00a02025) in\u00a0The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.<\/a><\/em><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Bournot, A. R., Hart, K. H., Johnsen, S., Givens, D. I., Lovegrove, J. A., Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez-Mena, J. M., De Lusignan, S., Bartlett, D. B., Lanham-New, S. A., & Darling, A. L. (2025). Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status and respiratory tract infections requiring hospital admission: Unmatched case-control analysis of ethnic groups from the United Kingdom Biobank cohort.\u00a0The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em><\/i>, 101179. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ajcnut.2025.101179<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher\u00a0rate of hospitalisation for respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, according to a new study involving scientists from the…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1187,"featured_media":723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVitamin D deficiency linked to respiratory infection risk - Agrifood Futures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-respiratory-infection-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vitamin D deficiency linked to respiratory infection risk - 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