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The link between vitamin D and Alzheimer’s

Vitamin D and dementiaAccording to the results of a new study, low levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School studied 1,658 older adults aged 65 and older. At the start of the study, participants were dementia free. The researchers followed up with them six years later to see who had developed Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. It turned out that a significant number of participants with vitamin D deficiencies had developed some form of memory impairment.

Those who were moderately deficient in vitamin D had a 53 percent increased risk of developing dementia of any kind, and a 69 percent increased risk for Alzheimer’s. The risk for dementia increased to 125 percent in those who were severely deficient, and the risk for Alzheimer’s increased to 122 percent.

This association is twice as strong as the researchers anticipated. Previous studies have also found a link between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment; the new study is the largest of its kind and the first to establish that such a deficiency is related to a significantly higher risk.

Yet, researchers emphasize that they need to conduct further studies to show that low vitamin D levels can cause Alzheimer’s or dementia. This means that maintaining high levels of vitamin D won’t necessarily prevent you from developing memory impairment. 

Still, the findings underscore the importance of getting enough vitamin D. Deficiencies not only have been linked to an increased risk for dementia, but to other health problems as well, including cancer, decreased immune function and depression.

You can boost your vitamin D levels by spending time in the sun – our skin converts sun rays into the vitamin – or by consuming supplements or foods such as oily fish and mushrooms.  

Image courtesy of samarttiw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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