Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased dementia risk

In a recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers investigated the associations between vitamin D (serum and supplementation status) and dementia (all-cause, vascular [VD], and Alzheimer's disease [AD]), Report informs referring to News Medical.

They analyzed a plethora of covariates, including demographic, socioeconomic, biomarker, genetic, lifestyle, and health-care reports from a long-term (12-17 years) prospective cohort comprising 269,229 UK Biobank participants between the ages of 55 and 69.

Study findings revealed that despite 5-20% of participants reporting regular Vitamin D supplementation, 18.3%, and 34.0% were found to have vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, respectively. Regression analyses highlight the association between vitamin D and dementia –vitamin D deficiency corresponded with a 19-25% increased risk of all three dementia types.

Surprisingly, the same skin color association was found during vitamin dementia-supplementation investigations. These investigations, however, highlight the benefits of supplementation, with multivitamin supplements associated with a 14% dementia risk reduction and 25% when taking medically prescribed high-dosage vitamin D supplements.