The Life-Extending Role of Vitamin D

Previously, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to osteoporosis, fractures, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, growing evidence suggests that vitamin D may reduce the incidence of several types of cancer as well as diabetes. James L. Vacek, from the University of Kansas (Kansas, USA), and colleagues studied how vitamin D levels and supplementation may affect disease risk and mortality in 10,899 peo men and women, average age 58 years. Each subject was classified as to their vitamin D level, and categorized as deficient if the blood levels were lower than 30 ng/mL. With more than 70% of the participants classified as vitamin D deficient, the researchers noted that deficiency associated with significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular-related diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, and diabetes. Additionally the risk of all-cause mortality was 164% higher in those subjects with vitamin D deficiency. Notably, the team observed that vitamin D supplementation associated with a 61% increase in survival, among study subjects.  Whereas the study authors report that: “vitamin D deficiency was associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced survival,” that: "Vitamin D supplementation was significantly associated with better survival, specifically in patients with documented deficiency.”