Vitamin D deficiency has become a prevalent issue in the news and in research circles. In 2010, controversy continues to abound as to what are optimal levels, how and why deficiencies occur and what are the health effects of insufficient levels. Clear connections between vitamin D and a variety of health conditions are being drawn and the importance of vitamin D for more than bone health is being increasingly recognized.
Triglycerides
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with elevated triglycerides, according to a study pubished in the November 2010 "European Journal of Nutrition." The study looked at vitamin D status and blood lipids in Spanish school children. After variables such as age, sex, body mass index and physical activity were accounted for, there remained a significant correlation between the two health parameters.
Cognitive Function
Receptors for vitamin D are present in muscle and also in the brain, according to a study published in the November 2010 "Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care." This central nervous system level of control means the brain has the ability to activate vitamin D for its own use. Indeed, low vitamin D status in the elderly is associated not only with muscle weakness but also with depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers encourage the correction of vitamin D deficiency to prevent associated neurologic disorders.
Depression
A study of nearly 8,000 U.S. residents between ages 15 to 39 years assessed rates of depression and vitamin D status and found a higher incidence of depression in those with vitamin D deficiency. The study, published in the November 2010 "International Archives of Medicine," also found that depressive episodes occurred with greater frequency in those with vitamin D levels below 50 nmol/L. The researchers emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and intervention of vitamin D deficiency to prevent depressive disorders.
Diabetes
A study on the relationship between vitamin D and diabetes found that low levels of vitamin D were associated with higher levels of glycosylated hemoglobin--a measure of blood sugar that reflects previous levels over a period of several months preceding the test. The study, which was published in the November-December 2010 "Annals of Saudi Medicine," gave 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 to 80 diabetics with vitamin D levels less than 50 nmol/L for 12 weeks.
Rickets
In Qatar, a country that receives considerable amounts of sunshine annually, a sampling of 540 children was found to have a 23.9 percent incidence of vitamin D deficiency rickets. The study, published in the 2010 "International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology," found that vitamin D deficient children spent an average of 27 fewer minutes under the sun than their non-vitamin D deficient counterparts. Vitamin D deficiency rickets, a preventable disease of malnutrition, is among the top five childhood diseases in the developing world and is on the rise in the developed world due, in part, to lifestyle changes that keep many children indoors for longer periods of time.
Liver Disease as a Source of Vitamin D Deficiency
Liver health is a factor in vitamin D status by virtue of its role in the production of the vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency can be a secondary effect of decreased liver function, according to a study published in the August 2010 "Gastroenterology and Hepatology." While impaired synthesis is rare and happens only in the most advanced cases of liver failure, impaired absorption can occur on a more frequent basis when there is impaired bile production from chronically decreased liver function.
References
- PubMed Central: Vitamin D Deficiency and Liver Disease
- PubMed.gov: Vitamin D deficiency is an independent predictor of elevated triglycerides in Spanish school children
- PubMed.gov: Vitamin D, neurocognitive functioning and immunocompetence
- International Archives of Medicine: Serum vitamin D concentrations are related to depression in young adult US population: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- PubMed.gov: Nutritional Rickets among Children in a Sun Rich Country
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