Recently Medical News Today reviewed a new study:
Over 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, which is expected to rise to 139 million by 2050, Interventions that can affect dementia risk factors are being explored to slow disease progression. One such risk factor is vitamin D deficiency.
Some studies have found that vitamin D may aid the clearance of amyloid beta aggregates—one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, studies have produced conflicting results on whether vitamin D improves cognitive function.
Other studies show that low vitamin D levels are linked to a greater risk of dementia and AD.
It has been known for years that perhaps Vitamin D was originally mislabeled. In light of new evidence, Vitamin D may act as a hormone. This means it is used to regulate our biology or chemical reactions instead of just acting as a supplement. It is shown to have multiple functions throughout the brain. WARNING: Vitamin D can become toxic if taken in larger than recommended doses.
Recently, researchers assessed the link between vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia. They found that vitamin D supplementation is linked to lower incidence of dementia.
The study was published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring
Testing 3 types of vitamin D
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 12,388 people from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center, who were dementia-free at the start of the study. Their average age was 71 years old.
Altogether, 37% of the cohort took at least one of three vitamin D supplements: calcium-vitamin D, cholecalciferol, and ergocalciferol. These researchers also evaluated folks for depression and other genetic predisposing factors.
5 years later...
After five years, the researchers found that 83.6% of those exposed to vitamin D supplements were alive and dementia-free. The same was true for 68.4% of those not exposed to vitamin D.
Next 10 years...
Within 10 years, the researchers found that 22% of participants developed dementia, of that percent, 74.8% were not exposed to vitamin D supplements.
After adjusting for factors mentioned above,, they found that vitamin D exposure was linked to a 40% lower incidence of dementia compared to no exposure.
Women see more benefit
The effects were strongest among women: women exposed to vitamin D were 49% less likely to develop dementia than those without exposure. Vitamin D-exposed men were 26% less likely to develop dementia than non-exposed men.
The researchers also found that depression was linked to a 35% higher incidence of dementia.
While findings were consistent for each vitamin D formulation, they noted that vitamin D supplements had the greatest effects on individuals with normal cognition.
How Vitamin D may help dementia
When asked how vitamin D supplements may be linked to lower dementia incidence, Dr. Dario Zagar, associate professor at Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told MNT:
“Prior studies have shown that low vitamin D levels are a risk factor for developing dementia, such as AD [Alzheimer’s disease]. Vitamin D has many functions in the body besides maintaining bone health, which is what most people think of.
”From the standpoint of memory disorders, vitamin D plays a role in clearing a protein called beta-amyloid, which accumulates in the brain in people with AD. It may also help to protect nerve cells from injury, including from other abnormal proteins that play a role in dementia.”— Dr. Dario Zagar
Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, a board-certified internist and author of books including From Fatigued to Fantastic!, who was not involved in the study, said immunity might be involved behind vitamin D’s benefits for dementia:
“My suspicion is that if vitamin D lowers dementia risk, it does so by balancing immunity. It is suspected that amyloid deposition may simply be a response to excess inflammation, being like a ‘band-aid’ that the body puts on brain inflammation. If so, this would account for why women are one-third more likely to get Alzheimer’s.”
Dr. Teitelbaum also touched on the reasons behind the finding that women were more likely to benefit from vitamin D supplements.
“Women are much more prone to autoimmune conditions, being three times more likely to have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and a host of other immune and autoimmune problems,” he told MNT.
“It is suspected that this is because a woman’s immune system is different from a man’s. A woman has 2 X chromosomes, whereas a man only has one. And much of the genes regulating immunity are on the X chromosome,” he explained.
“So that women were more likely to benefit from vitamin D in the study suggests that it helped balance immunity, and that it was actually taking the vitamin D that caused the benefit,” he noted.
Short term vs long-term inflammation
Inflammation is a key aspect of the body’s immune defenses. It can be acute or chronic. Symptoms can include swelling, heat, pain, redness, and more. Treatments can depend on the underlying cause.
Acute Inflammation
Basically this comes on quick and has a short duration so it doesn't damage the tissues for so long that they can never recover.
Chronic inflammation
Experts believe inflammation may contribute to a wide range of chronic diseases. Examples of these are metabolic syndrome, which includes type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
People with these conditions often have higher levels of inflammatory markers in their bodies.
Chronic inflammation if a person has:
- Sensitivity: Inflammation happens when the body senses something that should not be there. Hypersensitivity to an external trigger can result in an allergy.
- Exposure: Sometimes, long-term, low-level exposure to an irritant, such as an industrial chemical, can result in chronic inflammation.
- Autoimmune disorders: The immune system mistakenly attacks normal healthy tissue, as in psoriasis.
- Autoinflammatory diseases: A genetic factor affects the way the immune system works, as in Behçet’s disease.
- Persistent acute inflammation: In some cases, a person may not fully recover from acute inflammation. Sometimes, this can lead to chronic inflammation.
Factors that may increase the risk of chronic inflammation include:
- older age
- obesity
- a diet that is rich in unhealthy fats and added sugar
- smoking
- low sex hormones
- stress
- sleep problems
Long-term diseases that doctors associate with inflammation include:
- asthma
- chronic peptic ulcer
- tuberculosis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- periodontitis
- ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
- sinusitis
- active hepatitis
Inflammation plays a vital role in healing, but chronic inflammation may increase the risk of various diseases, including some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, periodontitis, and hay fever.
Chronic inflammation can lead to tissue death, thickening, and scarring of connective tissue.
So, look at the things you can control, like diet, exercise, stress, and a good night's sleep. Ask your doctor about Vitamin D and how much you should be taking. And don't forget to know the side effects of toxicity so you can recognize it right away!
