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Low vitamin D levels associated with increased risk of death
August 12, 2008Individuals with low levels of vitamin D appear to have a higher risk of death from all causes, according to a report in the August 11/25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Several studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer and death, according to background information in the article. The optimum blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) has been suggested to be 30 nanograms per milliliter or higher. Approximately 41 percent of U.S. men and 53 percent of U.S. women have levels lower than 28 nanograms per milliliter.
Michal L. Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues analyzed vitamin D levels in 13,331 individuals who participated in the Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vitamin D levels were collected between 1988 and 1994, and participants were tracked through 2000.
Over a median (midpoint) of 8.7 years of follow-up, 1,806 of the participants died. When they were divided into four groups (quartiles) based on their vitamin D levels, those in the group with the lowest level (less than 17.8 nanograms per milliliter) had a 26 percent increased rate of death from any cause compared with those in the group with the highest vitamin D levels. No significant associations were found when the researchers assessed vitamin D levels and risk of death from cardiovascular disease or cancer alone.
Low vitamin D levels may be associated with death through their effect on blood pressure, the body's ability to respond to insulin, obesity and diabetes risk, the authors note. Several lines of evidence support vitamin D's role in death risk, including the fact that cardiovascular events are more common in the winter, when vitamin D levels are lower, and that cancer survival is better if the disease is diagnosed in the summer when levels are higher.
"In conclusion, the lowest 25(OH)D quartile (less than 17.8 nanograms per milliliter) is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in the general U.S. population," the authors conclude. "Further observational studies are needed to confirm these findings and establish the mechanisms underlying these observations. If confirmed, randomized clinical trials will be needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation at higher doses could have any potential benefit in reducing future mortality risk in those with 25(OH)D deficiency."
JAMA and Archives Journals
Over a median (midpoint) of 8.7 years of follow-up, 1,806 of the participants died. When they were divided into four groups (quartiles) based on their vitamin D levels, those in the group with the lowest level (less than 17.8 nanograms per milliliter) had a 26 percent increased rate of death from any cause compared with those in the group with the highest vitamin D levels. No significant associations were found when the researchers assessed vitamin D levels and risk of death from cardiovascular disease or cancer alone.
Low vitamin D levels may be associated with death through their effect on blood pressure, the body's ability to respond to insulin, obesity and diabetes risk, the authors note. Several lines of evidence support vitamin D's role in death risk, including the fact that cardiovascular events are more common in the winter, when vitamin D levels are lower, and that cancer survival is better if the disease is diagnosed in the summer when levels are higher.
"In conclusion, the lowest 25(OH)D quartile (less than 17.8 nanograms per milliliter) is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in the general U.S. population," the authors conclude. "Further observational studies are needed to confirm these findings and establish the mechanisms underlying these observations. If confirmed, randomized clinical trials will be needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation at higher doses could have any potential benefit in reducing future mortality risk in those with 25(OH)D deficiency."
JAMA and Archives Journals
Vitamin D Current Events and Vitamin D News RSSMultiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
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Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.
New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death
While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.
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Neurologists Investigate Possible New Underlying Cause of MS
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Latest analysis confirms suboptimal vitamin D levels in millions of US children
Millions of children in the United States between the ages of 1 and 11 may suffer from suboptimal levels of vitamin D, according to a large nationally representative study published in the November issue of Pediatrics, accompanied by an editorial.
Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels
Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
New link found between osteoporosis and coeliac disease
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A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age.
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Vitamin D-3 (2000IU) 120 sgels by NOW NOW Vitamin D softgels supply this key vitamin in a highly-absorbable liquid softgel form. Vitamin D is normally obtained from the diet or produced by the skin from the ultraviolet energy of the sun. However, it is not abundant in food. As more people avoid sun exposure, Vitamin D supplementation becomes even more necessary to ensure that your body receives an adequate supply. * Picture may be of different size or flavor | |
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The Vitamin D Revolution: How the Power of This Amazing Vitamin Can Change Your Life by Dr. Soram Khalsa M.D. (Author) Recent, groundbreaking medical research has made a connection between Vitamin D deficiency and 17 types of cancers, including breast, colon, and prostate. Illnesses such as influenza, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and coronary heart disease have also been connected to a lack of this vitamin. Until not too long ago, not getting enough Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) was only associated with rickets, the childhood bone disease.
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Life Extension - Vitamin D3 (1000iu), 1000IU, 250 capsules by Life Extension Vitamin D is necessary for utilization of calcium and phosphorus and in many ways acts as a hormone.78-80 The two most important forms of vitamin D are cholecalciferol (D3), which is derived from our own cholesterol and ergocalciferol (D2), a plant analogue derived from the diet. The cholecalciferol supplied by the Life Extension Buyers Club is synthetic, but its form is identical to that which is derived from cholesterol and synthesized by sunlight on the skin. Cholecalciferol Vitamin D is essential for bone growth and maintenance of bone density. A dietary deficiency of vitamin D inhibits the production of the protein that binds calcium in the intestines, so that calcium cannot be absorbed, even if there is adequate intake. Deficiencies of vitamin D are often found in the elderly and... | |
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Carlson Vitamin D 1000 Iu, 100 Softgels, Bottle by Carlson Easy to swallow and digest Soft Gelatin Capsules. Vitamin D helps to regulate and control the metabolism of Calcium and Phosphorus by aiding in the absorption of these two minerals from the small intestine, and by directly affecting the rate at which these minerals form and maintain bone. |
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