Study Shows Link Between Vitamin D And Dementia

Study Shows Link Between Vitamin D And Dementia

A recent study showed the most conclusive evidence between vitamin D deficiency and dementia in old adults. The association between the vitamin deficiency and dementia was known about, however, this recent study showed the strongest association yet.

The study was conducted over a period of six years on a group of 1,650 old adults with ages 65 and over. The results showed that over 1,100 participants with good levels of vitamin D had a 1 in 10 chance of developing the condition. Seventy participants who had a major deficiency of Vitamin D had a 1 in 5 chance of developing dementia, marking a huge increase.

Lead researcher Dr. David Llewellyn, a teacher at the University of Exeter Medical School in the U.K. said that the team expected to find some form of connection between vitamin D deficiency and dementia or Alzheimer, however, nobody expected results to be so conclusive.

Vitamin D is generally obtained from direct sunlight, supplements and some fish oils. The increase in dementia rates for older people can come from their skins decreased ability to assimilate sunlight and convert it into vitamin D, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all adults need to increase supplements in order to prevent the disease as other yet undiscovered factors may still cause the decline in mental health.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday August 10 2014, 12:04 PM EST. Ref: Fox News. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0