Current State of Evidence: Influence of Nutritional and Nutrigenetic Factors on Immunity in the COVID-19 Pandemic Framework

Autor: Sebastià Galmés, Andreu Palou, Francisca Serra
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Male
humanos
adolescente
pandemias
Disease
metales
Nutrigenomics
Global health
mediana edad
vitaminas
nutrigenómica
Nutrition and Dietetics
Vitamins
adulto
Middle Aged
Micronutrient
adulto joven
estado nutricional
Metals
selenio
Female
epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections
lcsh:Nutrition. Foods and food supply
infecciones por Coronavirus
Adult
genetic variant
Adolescent
Pneumonia
Viral
Nutritional Status
lcsh:TX341-641
Context (language use)
Biology
Nutrigenetics
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Betacoronavirus
Selenium
Young Adult
Environmental health
Metals
Heavy
Humans
micronutrient
Pandemics
nutrigenetics
030109 nutrition & dietetics
business.industry
SARS-CoV-2
Ecological study
COVID-19
neumonía
Pneumonia
Food safety
immunity
030104 developmental biology
estudio de asociación genómica completa
business
Food Science
Genome-Wide Association Study
Zdroj: Nutrients
Nutrients, Vol 12, Iss 2738, p 2738 (2020)
Volume 12
Issue 9
ISSN: 2072-6643
Popis: The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has caused shock waves in many countries, producing a global health crisis worldwide. Lack of knowledge of the biological mechanisms of viruses, plus the absence of effective treatments against the disease (COVID-19) and/or vaccines have pulled factors that can compromise the proper functioning of the immune system to fight against infectious diseases into the spotlight. The optimal status of specific nutrients is considered crucial to keeping immune components within their normal activity, helping to avoid and overcome infections. Specifically, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluated and deems six vitamins (D, A, C, Folate, B6, B12) and four minerals (zinc, iron, copper and selenium) to be essential for the normal functioning of the immune system, due to the scientific evidence collected so far. In this report, an update on the evidence of the contribution of nutritional factors as immune-enhancing aspects, factors that could reduce their bioavailability, and the role of the optimal status of these nutrients within the COVID-19 pandemic context was carried out. First, a non-systematic review of the current state of knowledge regarding the impact of an optimal nutritional status of these nutrients on the proper functioning of the immune system as well as their potential role in COVID-19 prevention/treatment was carried out by searching for available scientific evidence in PubMed and LitCovid databases. Second, a compilation from published sources and an analysis of nutritional data from 10 European countries was performed, and the relationship between country nutritional status and epidemiological COVID-19 data (available in the Worldometers database) was evaluated following an ecological study design. Furthermore, the potential effect of genetics was considered through the selection of genetic variants previously identified in Genome-Wide Association studies (GWAs) as influencing the nutritional status of these 10 considered nutrients. Therefore, access to genetic information in accessible databases (1000genomes, by Ensembl) of individuals from European populations enabled an approximation that countries might present a greater risk of suboptimal status of the nutrients studied. Results from the review approach show the importance of maintaining a correct nutritional status of these 10 nutrients analyzed for the health of the immune system, highlighting the importance of Vitamin D and iron in the context of COVID-19. Besides, the ecological study demonstrates that intake levels of relevant micronutrients&mdash
especially Vitamins D, C, B12, and iron&mdash
are inversely associated with higher COVID-19 incidence and/or mortality, particularly in populations genetically predisposed to show lower micronutrient status. In conclusion, nutrigenetic data provided by joint assessment of 10 essential nutrients for the functioning of the immune system and of the genetic factors that can limit their bioavailability can be a fundamental tool to help strengthen the immune system of individuals and prepare populations to fight against infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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