Dangerous shortage

Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of death by two to three times

Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+

According to Austrian scientists, the lack of this vital compound is especially pronounced in people aged 45 to 60 years. For example, they are 4.4 times more likely to die from diabetes.

Numerous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency in old age with an increased risk of death. However, the exact mechanisms of this correlation have so far remained poorly understood. Experts from the Of the Vienna Medical University, about the work of which he tells Eurek Alert.

Scientists used data on vitamin D levels in 78,581 people collected between 1991 and 2011. The average age of the participants was 51 years. Then the team found out which of the subjects managed to die, at what age and from what diseases.

Comparing these indicators, the researchers found that a low concentration of vitamin D – about 10 nmol / l – increases the risk of death by 2-3 times, and the effect was strongest in people aged 45 to 60 years.

On the contrary, levels above 90 nmol/l reduced mortality by 30-40%. As in the case of scarcity, this was most pronounced among people aged 45-60 years. Meanwhile, in patients over 75 years of age, vitamin D had no effect on the risk of death.

According to scientists, first of all, vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of death from diabetes by 4.4 times. Cancer and cardiovascular diseases also developed more often against the background of a deficiency of this compound, but here the correlation was not as strong.

Also, scientists separately analyzed mortality in people whose blood concentration of vitamin D exceeded 100 nmol/L. Some studies have linked such high vitamin concentrations with an increased risk of cancer, but this time no negative effect was found. This means that it is impossible to "overdo it" with vitamin D. (In fact, you can, if you try hard – here is one of the recent examples of excessive consumption of healthy foods and dietary supplements – VM.)

The authors of the work believe that the results they obtained once again demonstrate the need to take vitamin D as an additive to the standard diet. And you need to start doing this at a young age.

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