Older men and women with low levels of vitamin D are nearly four times as likely to have problems with their memory, attention and logic, according to a new study presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Honolulu. The study suggests a link between vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia later in life.
An international team, led by Dr David Llewellyn at the University of Exeter Medical School, found that study participants who were severely Vitamin D deficient were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimers disease.
The team studied elderly Americans who took part in the Cardiovascular Health Study. They discovered that adults in the study who were moderately deficient in vitamin D had a 53 per cent increased risk of developing dementia of any kind, and the risk increased to 125 per cent in those who were severely deficient.
Dr Llewellyn said: “We expected to find an association between low Vitamin D levels and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but the results were surprising we actually found that the association was twice as strong as we anticipated.
“Clinical trials are now needed to establish whether eating foods such as oily fish or taking vitamin D supplements can delay …
Over 44 milion cases of dementia worldwide. Expected to triple by 2050. Almost a Billion people worldwode are thought to have low vitamin D level and many older adults may experience poorer health as a result.
The research is the first large study to investigate the relationship between vitamin D and dementia risk where the diagnosis was made by an expert multidisciplinary team, using a wide range of information including neuroimaging. Previous research established that people with low vitamin D levels are more likely to go on to experience cognitive problems, but this study confirms that this translates into a substantial increase in the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
The study also found evidence that there is a threshold level of Vitamin D circulating in the bloodstream below which the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease increases. The team had previously hypothesized that this might lie in the region of 25-50 nmol/L, and their new findings confirm that vitamin D levels above 50 nmol/L are most strongly associated with good brain health.
The analysis reveals that compared with participants who had sufficient vitamin D levels, those who were severely deficient experienced a substantial decline in thinking and in executive function—the ability to organize thoughts, make decisions and plan ahead. The authors say that the link between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive decline persisted even after adjusting for diet, health and other factors.
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