Research into Alzheimer’s disease continues to show that improved health habits and exercise can help lessen the chances of getting the disease. New research published in the journal, Neurology, reports that older adults who are severely deficient in vitamin D may be more than twice as likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
This study was the largest of its kind, and looked at several years of data that included 1,658 Americans ages 65 and older who had taken part in a large cardiovascular health study. The startling takeaway from this study is that researchers found adults with even a moderate deficiencies of vitamin D had a 53 percent increased risk of developing dementia while the risk increased to 125 percent for those adults with severe deficiencies. Specifically for Alzheimer’s disease, the moderately deficient adults were 69 percent more like to develop the disease, while those adults with a severe deficiency had a 122 percent increased risk.
Researcher David Llewellyn, of the University of Exeter Medical School, says that he and his team expected to find a link between the two. However, according to Llewellyn, they were shocked to find that the association was twice as large as they had originally anticipated. This study showed a clear correlation that researchers are eager to learn more about
“Clinical trials are now needed to establish whether eating foods such as oily fish or taking vitamin D supplements can delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia,” Llewellyn said.
This study follows recent research in France, Australia, and Denmark that also showed a correlation between the two. Researchers, however, caution that more studies must be completed to learn why indeed this link exists. To learn more about this study, please click here.
