Vitamin D deficiency has a direct link to dementia, according to the authors of a new genetics study. The results may have implications for people living in areas where this condition is prevalent, they say.
The researchers examined ties between vitamin D, neuroimaging and the risk of dementia and stroke. Genetic analysis showed evidence of a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency with dementia. What’s more, low levels of the vitamin were associated with lower brain volume and greater odds of developing dementia and stroke.
In some populations, up to 17% of dementia cases could be prevented if vitamin D levels were raised to recommended levels of 50 nmol/L, the authors theorized.
The study is the first of its kind in a large population, said Elina Hyppönen, Ph.D., of the University of South Australia. Data came from more than 290,000 participants in the UK Biobank.
“Most of us are likely to be ok, but for anyone who for whatever reason may not receive enough vitamin D from the sun, modifications to diet may not be enough, and supplementation may well be needed,” Hyppönen said.
Older adults are at increased risk of becoming vitamin D deficient, in part because they are less able to synthesize it and because they may spend more time indoors than younger adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. Other studies have found vitamin D deficiency to be common among nursing facility residents as well as associated with dementia.
The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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