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Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by JshWright on Thursday September 03, 2020 @05:20PM (#24369019)
> there is a lot of observational evidence that people with low vitamin D have the worst C19 outcomes. Obviously, correlation by itself doesn't mean causation. But it is a hint.

It's a pretty useless one in this case. Old people are much more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. They are also more likely to die of COVID. The low vitamin D is a marker of frailty, not a cause.

Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by 0-_-0 on Thursday September 03, 2020 @07:13PM (#24369899)
According to the study being discussed you're clearly wrong.
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by elliekelly on Thursday September 03, 2020 @05:57PM (#24369340)
How can you say that with such certainty?
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by harry8 on Friday September 04, 2020 @12:14AM (#24371661)
Randomized trial.

This was not simply observational. There will be no correlation between being given higher dose vitamin D and age in this trial, the results appear at first blush to be showing Vitamin D is working independant of age.

By the by this /exactly/ why a randomised trial has been the gold standard for medical treatment for so long. False correlations, confounding factors etc are all vastly less likely to skew the results. 2 groups chosen at random, nobody in the groups or treating them knows which is which. 1 group given treatment, 1 given a placebo. How much difference do we see in the 2 groups as a result of treatment.

It's a good question. It's always worth asking. It's always worth checking. The rabbit hole of stat analysis of treatments goes pretty deep from there. Ethical issues come in. Expense. But we all need to make the effort to understand it on some level or we're marks for snake-oil.

Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by ImaCake on Friday September 04, 2020 @03:19AM (#24372547)
Yep, in broad strokes, randomisation removes any bias or confounding effects such as age, gender, behaviour, genetic disposition etc. The price you pay is in precision; randomisation and the best practice analysis (intention to treat) tend to produce weaker signals of effectiveness compared to the control treatment. But that price is worth paying because randomisation is really the only way to be sure that you are seeing a real effect caused by your treatment.
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by harry8 on Friday September 04, 2020 @07:27AM (#24373972)
Randomised trial for parachutes? So yeah slightly more complex than "The only way..."
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by ravenstine on Thursday September 03, 2020 @06:08PM (#24369437)
Wouldn't it be fairly easy to separate the elderly who aren't vitamin D deficient from the ones who are? Sounds like a basic measure that could be taken.
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by mixmastamyk on Thursday September 03, 2020 @07:34PM (#24370065)
All are because the skin loses its ability to generate it in old age. Supplements are the only way.
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by imtringued on Friday September 04, 2020 @03:17AM (#24372532)
If the body can absorb vitamin D from supplements then it can absorb it from food as well so your statement is wrong. You can eat 2-3 eggs and you're done.
Re:The First Randomized Controlled Trial on Vitamin D and Co... by Broken_Hippo on Friday September 04, 2020 @03:38AM (#24372651)
I don't think eggs have that much vitamin D, though. I googled: It said 2 eggs have 87iu.

To put this in perspective: I take 800iu as a maintenance dose to keep my vitamin D levels up. (I'm doing this under a doctor's supervision: I've been sick with low levels and she does blood tests occasionally to be sure). 2 eggs is simply not enough.