Vitamin D deficiency may harm brain function: study

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<font >Low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of </font>
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<font >cognitive impairment </font>

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<font >in the elderly, according to findings from the nationally representative, population-based Health Survey for England 2000.</font>

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<p>Despite the theoretical support for the role of vitamin D in maintaining brain function in old age, clinical data are lacking, the researchers note. </p>
<p>Therefore, Dr. David J. Llewellyn and his associates studied 1766 adults, aged 65 or older, from whom blood samples were obtained to measure circulating vitamin D levels. </p>
<p>Cognitive function was measured using the Abbreviated Mental Test, which includes 10 questions to assess attention, orientation in time and space, and memory. </p>
<p>Based on scores of 70 percent or less, 212 subjects (12 percent) were deemed to be cognitively impaired.</p>
<p>The researchers found a significant association between lower levels of vitamin D and cognitive impairment. </p>
<p>After adjusting for factors that could influence the association, including co-existing illnesses, older adults with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired as those with the highest levels. </p>
<p>Llewellyn, of the University of Cambridge and his colleagues suggest that vitamin D concentrations may help doctors in screening for cognitive impairment. </p>
<p>&quot;Further research,&quot; they conclude, &quot;is needed to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation is a cost effective way of reducing the incidence of cognitive impairment with few adverse events.&quot;</p>
<p>SOURCE: Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology, February 2009</p>