Vitamin D

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People with normal levels of vitamin D in their body are more likely to live longer than those with a deficiency, researchers have discovered.

 

People with normal levels of vitamin D in their body are more likely to live longer than those with a deficiency, researchers have discovered.

The vitamin, produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight, helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health.

A team in Austria has found that it can also have an impact on death rates, the Archives of Internal Medicine reports.

"This is the first association study that shows vitamin D affects mortality regardless of the (primary) reason for death," said Dr Harald Dobnig of the University of Graz, who led the study.

Vitamin D, known as the "sunshine vitamin", is added to milk and is found in fatty fish like salmon but many people do not get enough of it.

A lack of the vitamin can lead to rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.

Recent studies have indicated that it may offer a variety of other health benefits, including protecting against cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis.

Last week, American researchers said vitamin D may extend the lives of people with colon and rectal cancer.

Mr Dobnig and colleagues studied more than 3,200 people with an average age of 62 who were scheduled for a heart examination between 1997 and 2000.

During an eight-year follow-up programme, the researchers found that the quarter of volunteers with the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood were more likely to have died.

Researchers found the risk was doubled for people with between 5 to 10 nanograms per millilitre of vitamin D in their blood, even when factors such as heart disease, exercise and other conditions were taken into account, Dr Dobnig said.

Most doctors believe people should have between 20 to 30 nanograms per millilitre of the vitamin in their blood, he added.

It is not clear why vitamin D could have such a beneficial effect on mortality.

Dr Dobnig said that the findings could help doctors become more aware of the problem in those who spend large amounts of time indoors, including the elderly and immobile.