New research is now linking low levels of
vitamin D with death from heart disease, bolstering mounting
evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in promoting good
health. This doesn't mean you should run out and spend hours in
the sun or start popping vitamin D pills, but it does bear
looking at your diet and habits to make sure that your body is
getting adequate amounts and the benefits of this nutrient.
The study found that patients with the lowest levels of vitamin
D in their blood were about two times more likely to die from
any cause during the next eight years than those patients with
high vitamin D levels. Led by a team of Austrian researchers,
3258 participants of both sexes were studied in southern
Germany. Most of the participants were around the age of 62 and
already had heart disease and doing weekly blood tests to check
their vitamin D levels. After eight years of follow-up, 737
patients had died, including 463 patients from heart-related
problems.
The study itself did not determine whether the lack of vitamin D
caused the deaths, or whether increasing your vitamin D intake
will make any difference. According to one of the vitamin tests
they used, in the number of death recorded, 307 were patients
with the lowest levels versus 103 deaths in those with the
highest levels of the vitamin. Counting factors such as physical
activity, age, and others, the researchers calculated that the
deaths from all causes were about twice as common in patients in
the group with the lowest-levels of vitamin D.
A spokeswoman for the American Heart Association and director of
the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University,
Alice Lichtenstein, agreed that low levels of vitamin D in our
blood could also reflect lack of physical activity, age, or
other lifestyle factors that can also affect health, but also
felt that keeping these other factors in mind, this study is
still an important addition to an emerging area of research.
"This is something that should not be ignored."
The results don't prove that low levels of vitamin D are harmful "but the
evidence is just becoming overwhelming at this point," said the study's lead
author, Dr. Harald Dobnig of the Medical University of Graz. He also stated
that scientists used to think that the only role of vitamin D was to
strengthen bones or prevent rickets. "Now we are beginning to realize that
there is much more into it."
Earlier this month Health News published an article on the widespread
vitamin D deficiency in the U.S., and recent research at Harvard has linked
low vitamin D levels with heart attacks. Previous research also linked low
vitamin D levels with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity which can
all lead up to heart disease.
Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a researcher in the Harvard study of 18,225 men,
said that the new research "provides the strongest evidence to date for a
link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular mortality."
Low levels of vitamin D have also been linked with several cancers in kids
and some researchers believe that the vitamin could even be used to help
malignancies. It has been estimated that approximately 50 percent of older
adults worldwide have low levels of vitamin D. The problem has also been
thought to affect a substantial number or younger people as well. The
possible reasons for this include air pollution, decreased outdoor
activities, and as people age, a decline in the skins ability to produce
vitamin D from the suns ultraviolet rays.
Some physicians believe that the overuse of sunscreen lotions has
contributed, and say that just 10 to 15 minutes in the sun on a daily basis
without sunscreen is safe and enough to ensure an adequate amount of vitamin
D, although there is no consensus on that.
The Institute of Medicine's current recommendations for vitamin D per day
are 200 units for children and adults up to age 50. For older adults they
recommend 400 to 600 units per day. Some physicians believe that these
amounts are way to low and recommend taking supplements with their normal
diet
