Home | Nutrition | Vitamins | Low vitamin D linked with cognitive decline, Alzheimer's

Low vitamin D linked with cognitive decline, Alzheimer's

13/07/2010 12:59:00 admin

Font size:

Low levels of vitamin D may cause declines in thinking, learning and memory in older men and women, according to a new study in the July 12 2010 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

An early study reported at foodconsumer.org showed low vitamin D was linked with cognitive decline in people with dementia, particularly Alzheimer's patients.

The current study led by David J. Llewellyn, Ph.D., of University of Exeter, England, and colleagues showed that older people with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to experience cognitive decline over a six-year period.

For the study, the researchers assessed blood levels of vitamin d in 858 men and women aged 65 or older at baseline. Participants completed interviews and medical exams and provided blood samples. Three tested were administered at the beginning of the study and again after three and six years.

The researchers found those who were severely deficient of vitamin D, defined as having blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of less than 25 ng per mL, were 60 percent more likely to have substantial cognitive decline during the six year follow-up and 30 percent more likely to have declines on the test measuring executive function than those with sufficient levels.

"Vitamin D has been known for many years to play a critical role in skeletal health, such that very low levels of this hormone (less than 20 nanomoles per liter) can cause osteomalacia, a disorder of impaired bone mineralization," says Andrew Grey, M.D., and Mark Bolland, M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., of University of Auckland, New Zealand in an accompanying editorial.

"More recently, observational studies have reported inverse associations between levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the metabolite that best reflects overall vitamin D status, and the risk of a wide range of disease, including cancer, vascular disease, infectious conditions, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity."

Other studies reported early on foodconsumer.org suggest that low vitamin D can not only cause more cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, but also lead to the development of Alzheimer's in the first place.

Three studies presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Honolulu suggest that physical exercise, tea and vitamin D may all help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

An estimated 40 to 100 percent of older people in the U.S. suffer vitamin D deficiency and a few millions of them live with Alzheimer's disease.

David Liu

Add to: Add to your del.icio.us

del.icio.us | Digg this story

Digg

Comments (3 posted):

Bob DeMarco on 13/07/2010 16:35:19

The Alzheimer's Reading Room has clear, concise, usable news, research, insight and advice for the entire Alzheimer's community. 100 Million Americans have been touched by Alzheimer's Disease, 35 million are worried about Alzheimer's Disease.

http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.***/2010/02/about-alzheimers-reading-room.html

Shrish on 14/07/2010 05:17:53

And they continue the sunscare so they make billions on sun products....wake up people! The sun is vital to health and if you live north get it indoors in moderation.

drew grantt on 15/07/2010 13:29:28

Vitamin D is often called the sunshine vitamin because the body produces in response to sunlight. Vitamin D has become the "vitamin in recent years as research links up for its lack of variety of health problems like heart disease, some cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, schizophrenia, and some autoimmune diseases. Many patients with AD have been deprived of sunlight and consume less than 100 IU of vitamin D daily. We concluded that vitamin D deficiency due to sunlight deprivation and malnutrition, as well as compensatory hyperparathyroidism, contributes significantly to the decrease in bone mineral density in patients with Alzheimer's. Low BMD increases risk of hip fractures in patients with AD, but can be improved by supplements of vitamin D.