The findings of a recent study published in the journal Neurology indicate that vitamin D deficiency predicts cognitive decline. The evidence that Vitamin D is important for our health is overwhelming. Those who still deny Vitamin D supplementation is important have little room to stand because on a regular basis new papers are published detailing either the ill health effects of D deficiency or the benefits of D supplementation.
This paper was published on November 5 2014, it looks at 1927 elderly individuals over a 4.4 year time frame. This study found that individuals with below normal Vitamin D levels had diminishing scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination. This examination is a sensitive, valid and reliable 30-point questionnaire that is used extensively in clinical and research settings to measure cognitive impairment. Individuals with optimal Vitamin D levels scored better and did not show diminishing levels over the study period. The authors concluded: “The results of our study support an independent association between low 25OHD levels and cognitive decline in elderly individuals. In cognitively intact elderly subjects, 25OHD levels below 75 nmol/L are already predictive of global cognitive dysfunction at 4.4 years.”
This study shows that Vitamin D deficiency is independently associated with diminishing cognition and D deficiency can predict who those most likely to have a cognitive decline. This was a well designed study that shows Vitamin D deficiency effects all aspects of our health not just bone health as was focused on in the past. I have posted a number of studies pertaining to Vitamin D including one on D and multiple sclerosis, another D + calcium on lowering cholesterol, and another on D improving glucose and insulin function. These plus others that I will post on in the future all show Vitamin D is important for our bodies to function and we need to be getting the right amount of Vitamin D to live a long and healthy life.