High vitamin D linked to better cognitive function in old people

Wednesday May 27, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- The news is bright for the sunshine vitamin. A British study out of Manchester indicates that older people who have higher levels of vitamin D in their bloodstream have greater cognitive and social abilities as they grow older, compared to those who have lower levels of the vitamin.

Vitamin D is manufactured by the body after the skin has been exposed to the sun. Physically, it helps the bones absorb calcium; hence, most calcium supplements are a combination of the mineral and vitamin D.

The results of the current study are being published by the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Three thousand European men were tested cognitively and socially; the lower the levels of vitamin D, the poorer the participants fared on the tests.

While this is the first definitive study linking mental acumen in old age to vitamin D, a study published in the Journal of Gerontology in 2007 showed a strong link between vitamin D levels and physical performance in older people. Nine hundred subjects were given blood tests to check their vitamin D levels. Then each participant was checked to see how fast they could walk, how easily they could get out of a chair, and how well they could maintain balance. Hands down, those who had higher levels of vitamin D physically outperformed those with lower levels.

Clearly, the physical and mental benefits of vitamin D bode well for seniors. More good news: while spending time in the sun is one way to enable the body to produce vitamin D, supplementation is just as effective for those who are unable to get outside much, or those who are at a greater risk for skin cancer.

(By Rachel Stockton, and edited by Heather Kelley)