Low Vitamin D Levels and Cognitive Decline in the Aging Process

Extra Vitamin D Pays Off Big Time During the Aging Process

It is well known that vitamin D is essential for maintaining healthy muscles and bone, and plays significant roles in the immune system and cardiovascular function. More and more research is showing that it plays a significant role in supporting healthy brain function.

A study published in The Journal of Gerontology included 1,202 Chinese adults over the age of 60. Baseline levels of vitamin D were measured at the beginning of the study, and cognitive tests were administered over 2 years.

Regardless of the age or gender of the subjects, individuals with lower vitamin D levels at the start of the study were approximately twice as likely to have significant cognitive decline over time. In addition, low vitamin D levels at baseline also increased the risk of future cognitive impairment by 2-3 times.

This was the first large-scale prospective study in Asia to study the association between vitamin D status and risk of cognitive decline and impairment in the Chinese elderly.

The results of this study give support to the idea that vitamin D is neuroprotective by supporting healthy brain aging, and improved vitamin D status may be beneficial in supporting healthy cognitive function in aging populations.

Matchar DB, Chei CL, Yin ZX, et al. Vitamin D Levels and the Risk of Cognitive Decline in Chinese Elderly People: the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2016;71(10):1363-8.

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High Vitamin D levels are associated with a decreased risk of all-cause and specific mortality risk

Originally posted April 11, 2014

In a new large review of observational studies, an international team of researchers uncovered a reduction in the risk of premature death in association with the use of vitamin D3 supplements.

Read more about this research below.

Vitamin D supplementation is known to benefit conditions associated with the skeletal system such as rickets, fractures and falls, as well as a range of diseases including multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disorders, infections, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Non-skeletal benefits of vitamin D supplementation are still currently being debated in many cases.

The review included 73 observational population studies that reported vitamin D serum levels and the cause of death among 849,412 men and women over a follow up period up to 29 years.

When comparing adults with the lowest one-third of vitamin D levels to those in the highest third, subjects had a 35% higher risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease or any cause over the follow-up period. Adults with the lowest levels also had a 30% greater risk of non-vascular, non-cancer death, and a 14% higher risk of death from cancer.

Evidence from these observational studies found significant inverse associations between serum vitamin D levels and risks of death from cardiovascular disease, lymphoma, upper digestive tract cancer, and respiratory diseases. In addition, when the form of vitamin D supplementation was taken into account, vitamin D3 significantly reduced all-cause mortality by 11%. Vitamin D2, on the other hand, did not appear to have any significant effect on mortality.

Researchers noted that further studies should be done to determine the optimal dose and duration of supplementation and to further confirm whether vitamin D3 affects the mortality risk differently than vitamin D2.

Rajiv Chowdhury et al.  Vitamin D and risk of cause specific death: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort and randomised intervention studies. BMJ 2014;348:g1903 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1903 (Published 1 April 2014).

April 9, 2014,  USANA Health Sciences