Vitamin D deficiency among elderly speeds up cognitive decline by three times

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency may experience cognitive decline and impaired performance faster than those with adequate vitamin D levels, according to a recent study. A new study has found a link between vitamin D deficiency and an accelerated decline in loss of memory and cognitive ability.

More than 60% of the participants had low vitamin D levels. A little less than 18% had dementia, 33% had mild cognitive impairment, and 50% were normal. Whereas the pigment melanin in darker pores and skin gives extra safety towards, it additionally reduces the pores and skin’s capability to make vitamin D when uncovered to daylight. The results showed that individuals who had a vitamin D deficiency suffered cognitive decline at a rate that was two (2) to three (3) times quicker, compared to individuals who had a good level of vitamin D. Associations were evaluated between vitamin D levels and course of cognitive decline.

Most of the 382 people in the study were low on vitamin D, tested by measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood. Vitamin D supplementation is controversial and the benefits have been debated.

The research was done in nearly 400 racially and ethnically different men and women in Northern California participating in longitudinal research at the Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Sacramento, Calif. Half of the participants were Caucasian and 50 percent were African-American or Hispanic.

Because low vitamin D levels have been connected to a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in previous studies, the group wanted to further investigate the relationship, especially among ethnic groups who traditionally have low levels of vitamin D.

The authors note that the major sources of vitamin D are through the diet, from sunlight (which can transform vitamin D precursor compounds in the skin into its active form) and via supplements.

Low vitamin D levels were also associated with significantly more difficulty with remembering general information (semantic memory), seeing the relationship between objects (visuospatial ability) and managing overall thinking processes (executive function).

However, such a study is unlikely to happen unless undertaken by a government agency such as the National Institutes of Health, Miller said, simply because there is little profit motive for answering that question.

It was found the African-American as well as the Hispanic people had lower levels of vitamin D. They also had lower cognitive scores compared to the white volunteers.

Awareness of how vitamin D affects bone strength is well established, and it is recognized that it helps in the fight against other diseases.

“We’re relatively cautious in how we say this”, Joshua Miller, chairman of the department of nutrition in the school of environmental and biological sciences at Rutgers University, said.