Vitamin D Deficiency May Increase Risk Of Dementia

Filed in archive Alzheimer's Disease , Dietary Supplements and Vitamins , Studies on January 23, 2009

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Low Vitamin D levels in the elderly could be linked to cognitive impairment. Such were the findings of a new large scale senior population study.

The study, conducted on almost 2,000 adults over the age of 65, is the first of its scale to identify this relationship, and prompted researchers to suggest vitamin D supplementation as a possible means of reducing the risk of dementia.

The findings from the researchers at the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN revealed that compared to those with optimum levels of vitamin D, those with the lowest levels were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired.

The problem with Vitamin D is that is is generally absorbed through sunlight exposure and from eating fortified foods. Thus, most people are probably Vitamin D deficient. The more with the elderly because the ability to absorb Vitamin D through the skin decreases as we age.