{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T05:45:40Z","timestamp":1780638340104,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634688000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008675","name":"Zayed University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008675","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004174","name":"Khalifa University of Science and Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["COVID19004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["COVID19004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004174","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vitamin D has many effects on cells in the immune system. Many studies have linked low vitamin D status with severity of COVID-19. Genetic variants involved in vitamin D metabolism have been implicated as potential risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. This study investigated how genetic variations in humans affected the clinical presentation of COVID-19. In total, 646 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were divided into two groups: noncritical COVID-19 (n = 453; 70.12%) and a critical group (n = 193; 29.87%). Genotype data on the GC, NADSYN1, VDR, and CYP2R1 genes along with data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were compiled in patients admitted to a major hospital in the United Arab Emirates between April 2020 and January 2021. We identified 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the critical COVID-19 condition: rs59241277, rs113574864, rs182901986, rs60349934, and rs113876500; rs4944076, rs4944997, rs4944998, rs4944979, and rs10898210; and rs11574018 and rs11574024. We report significant associations between genetic determinants of vitamin D metabolism and COVID-19 severity in the UAE population. Further research needed to clarify the mechanism of action against viral infection in vitamin D deficiency. These variants could be used with vaccination to manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and could be particularly valuable in populations in which vitamin D deficiency is common.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13113680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T21:31:26Z","timestamp":1634765486000},"page":"3680","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Associations between Genetic Variants in the Vitamin D Metabolism Pathway and Severity of COVID-19 among UAE Residents"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1993-6656","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatme","family":"Al-Anouti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mira","family":"Mousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Women\u2019s and Reproductive Health, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 4BH, UK"},{"name":"Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4225-2746","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Spyridon N.","family":"Karras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Scholarship Foundation, 55535 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1439-3285","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"William B.","family":"Grant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, San Francisco, CA 94164-1603, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6501-7055","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zainab","family":"Alhalwachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laila","family":"Abdel-Wareth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Reference Laboratory, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1175-4145","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maimunah","family":"Uddin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nawal","family":"Alkaabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guan K.","family":"Tay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia"},{"name":"School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bassam","family":"Mahboub","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dubai Health Authority, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7141-1438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Habiba","family":"AlSafar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2021, April 07). 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