People who are vitamin D deficient are more likely to develop dementia in later stage of their lives, according to the study carried by a team of international researchers.
The study was conducted by researchers from University of Exeter Medical School in UK, Angers University Hospital in France, and leading universities in the Unites States including Florida International University, University of Washington, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research.
The team, headed by Dr. David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Medical School, discovered that respondents who severely lack Vitamin D were twice as more prone to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Among respondents, the study also showed senior adults who were moderately deficient in vitamin D had about 53 percent greater chance of developing dementia. Furthermore, the risk increased to as much as 126% percent among senior adults who were severely deficient.
Published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the study was conducted among 1,658 adults aged 65 and above.
To take part in the study, participants were screened and only those who are able to walk unaided and bore no occurrences of dementia were accepted. Participants were closely monitored for six years to observe who later develop Alzheimer's disease as well as other forms of dementia.
"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" Dr. Llewellyn said.
"We actually found that the association was twice as strong as we anticipated," Dr. Llewellyn added.
Vitamin D is a crucial vitamin needed by the body for proper calcium absorption, control of cell growth, normal functioning of immune system, and alleviation of inflammation. A person who lacks vitamin D is more likely to have weakened immune system, more prone to cancer, and even develop poor hair growth. Too much of vitamin D, however, can cause the body to absorb excessive calcium that could lead to higher occurrences of heart attack.
