Low Vitamin D Levels Linked with Health Problems

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

11 Jul 2008 03:17 PM

An Austrian study took a look at the health problems that can come with low levels of vitamin D.

Researchers followed more than 3,200 men and women from southwest Germany for eight years. Most of the participants had some form of heart disease, and the average participant age was sixty-two. During the study, the participants were tested weekly for vitamin D levels.

Over the eight years of the study, 737 participants died -- 463 deaths from heart-related problems and the rest from other causes. One of the vitamin tests showed that patients with the lowest levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to die as people with the highest levels of vitamin D.

Study authors don't believe that the results definitively demonstrate that low levels of vitamin D are harmful -- but the evidence is growing. The link with heart-related deaths was especially strong in people with low vitamin D levels. Previous studies (including one from Harvard) have linked low levels of vitamin D with heart attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Low levels of vitamin D have also been linked with several kinds of cancer.

So why are older adults more likely to have low levels of vitamin D?

• Decreased outdoor activities, thanks to decreased mobility and other factors.
• Air pollution blocking sunlight, meaning less vitamin D production in the body after sun exposure.
• A decline in the skin's ability to produce vitamin D, due to aging.
• Some doctors believe overuse of sunscreen may impair vitamin D production. There is no consensus on this in the medical community, but it may be safe to be in the sun without sunscreen for ten to fifteen minutes to ensure vitamin D production.

Scientists aren't sure right now how low vitamin D levels may contribute to heart problems and death from other illnesses. Vitamin D's role in supporting the immune system may be part of the equation.

Don't take these study results as permission to take mega-vitamins or spend hours in the sun without sunscreen. Talk to your doctor about the potential benefits of a vitamin D supplement before increasing your intake.

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