Saturday Dec 7, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking vitamin D supplements may help prevent or at least reduce the risk of death from acute ischemic stroke, a study in Clinical Science suggests.

W.J. Tu and colleagues from China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, P.R. China conducted the study in Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke and found patients suffering acute ischemic stroke with low serum vitamin D were 30% more likely than those with high levels of vitamin D to die from acute ischemic stroke.

The authors stated that "Low vitamin D levels have been reported to contribute to the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, especially stroke."

The current study involved 231 Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the emergency department at two hospitals in Beijing for treatment between Feb 2010 and Sept. 2012.  Serum 25(OH)D or 25-hydroxyvitamin D was tested in all patients.  A total of 220 were followed up.

Patients with acute ischemic stroke had a significantly lower serum level of vitamin D, compared with controls, 14.2 ng/mL vs. 17.9 ng/mL.

Acute ischemic stroke patients with lower levels of serum 25(OH)D were 21% and 30% more likely to have a lower score on short term functional outcome and die during a 90-day follow-up, respectively.

The study concluded that "25(OH)D is an independent prognostic marker for death and functional outcome within 90 days in Chinese patients with AIS (acute ischemic stroke) even after adjusting for possible confounding factors."

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to more than 100 health conditions or diseases including cancer, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, depression, brain disorders, infections, and death.

Vitamin D experts recommend that adult should have a daily intake of 5000 IU of vitamin D to prevent diseases.(David Liu, PHD)