A study in Spain has linked low Vitamin D levels to a higher prevalence of COVID-19.

Researchers at the University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain examined the vitamin D levels of 216 patients. These patients had been admitted to hospital for COVID-19 treatment this past March. The Vitamin D levels of those patients were compared to that of a control group which consisted of 197 people.

There were 82% of those who were hospitalized with COVID-19 that had Vitamin D deficiency. No relationship was found between deficiency of Vitamin D and the severity of COVID-19 for these patients.

The information was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Researchers also noted that Vitamin D-deficient COVID-19 patients had a greater prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases as well as a longer length of hospital stay.