Vitamin K2 Insufficiency: Linking Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Coagulopathy in Severity of COVID-19

Abstract

The recent pandemic due to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) has been a very dreadful situation for mankind. It took a toll
on every sector in the world besides the common people. Understanding the disease and its management on a fast-track was
a big challenge to clinicians and researchers. The root cause of death due to COVID-19 was pneumonia and acute respiratory
distress syndrome (ARDS). Several pathophysiological mechanisms involving lung damage, vascular coagulopathy and inflammation have been identified. Besides key risk factors viz. advanced age and comorbidities, insufficiency of  micronutrients and vitamins is known to increase severity of the disease. Vitamin C and D supplementation was one of the components of the treatment algorithm in the management of COVID-19. Another vitamin, Vitamin K has been linked to COVID-19-associated severity. The present article reviews the scientific basis of this emerging notion and gives an overview of the types of Vitamin K– K1 and K2 with emphasis on Vitamin K2-7 and its functional benefits in reducing COVID 19-related morbidity and mortality.