Relationships | 08/14/2008 11:15 am

Low Level of Vitamin D Linked to Increased Risk of Death

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Now people can feel a little less guilty tanning in the sun.

People with low levels of vitamin D, which is obtained from milk, fortified cereals and exposure to the sun, have a significantly higher risk of death than those with higher levels of the "sunshine vitamin," according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Health.

The research, which is believed to be the most conclusive evidence to date involving vitamin D and mortality risk in the general population, is the latest in a long string of reports suggesting that vitamin D may play an important role in preventing a variety of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University tested the blood of 13,000 men and women for vitamin D levels and then followed them for about nine years. The participants were divided into four groups based on vitamin D levels. Lead researcher Erin Michos, MD, MHS, and her team compared the risk of death between those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D to those with higher levels. After about nine years, 1,806 participants died.

Those participants in the group with the lowest level of vitamin D, which was less than 17.8 nanograms per milliliter, had a 26 percent greater risk of dying from any cause than those in the top quarter.

"Our results make it much more clear that all men and women concerned about their overall health should more closely monitor their blood levels of vitamin D and make sure they have enough," says Dr. Michos, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute.

The National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements suggests that an adequate daily intake of vitamin D for women between the ages of 19 to 70 is between 200 and 400 international units (or blood levels nearing about 30 nanograms per milliliter). Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are technically deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter.

Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium, is well known to play an essential role in cell growth, in boosting the body’s immune system and in strengthening bones. To produce the body’s requirement of vitamin D through sun exposure — without looking like the woman in "There’s Something About Mary" — the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health recommend just 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine three times a week. Click here to read more about meeting daily vitamin D intakes.

The new findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Click here to read more about this study.

Read more about: Beauty, Cancer, Death, Health, Mortality, News

13 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

I wish we could have more articles like this on womens health issues. Most of us do not have the correct information on women and heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and osteoporosis.

By Diana T on 08/14/2008 11:19 am

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This is so important. A decade or so ago, someone noticed that colon cancer was more common the closer you were to the north pole. Someone then did a map of colon cancer statistics and found that there was a direct relationship with latitude. This is now understood to involve the fact that Vitamin D cannot be absorbed from sunlight most months of the year in most of the United States in sufficient quantity for health. That is why northern dwellers like Scandinavians and Eskimos eat a lot of fish which contains Vitamin D. I think for those of us who do not eat a lot of fish, taking supplements of Vitamin D3 and getting annual winter Vitamin D blood tests are going to be the new routine. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to autoimmunity, osteoporosis, many forms of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. I had not heard that it was linked to obesity, but that also makes sense, as Vitamin D is active in every cell of the body. More information on why D is essential can be found at this article that was in Scientific American last year: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cell-defenses-and-the-sunshine-vitam…

By Elizabeth Bennett on 08/14/2008 12:41 pm

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as humans ‘evolved’ via Lamarckian ‘acquired characteristics’, ie: environmental interaction, this is no surprise. both the works of dr. steele, et al, on lab mice changing their genome (Lamarck’s Signature), and the recent PBS ‘Ghost in Your Genes’ soundly lay Darwinian models to only ‘mass-extinction’ relevance, hardly the main evolutionary engine, those evolved in the Sun’s light would need such. but there is a ‘glitch’—-why do whites have melanoma rates 170 times higher than ‘all-others’? (National Bureau of Stats)—-this mystery deepens as you have both equatorial And near polar blacks. is it that whites spend more time sunbathing on Maui? no. there is an elegant explanation, but very unlikely seen by those not widely read in ‘life-science’, so as a writer using same, it’s proprietary—-until published—-

By gulliver fourmyle on 08/15/2008 10:35 am

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You guys are always on the ball. This is so important and I have to thank Elizabeth Bennett as well for bringing this up on the threads a few times. It is easy to slip out of the Vit D habit. When young and taking vites, the docs would say, don’t take too much D it can be toxic. That was a message for a while in our society. I have been a gardener for over 40 years and although I sunscreen my face, neck and chest. The rest of me has the benefit of a warm freckle blanket from the sun. I watch it though, to make sure I don’t get overexposure.

By Frannie Em on 08/15/2008 1:46 pm

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thanks, wow, for publishing this article. and thanks to elizabeth for the sci-am link. one of the things that article tells is how we came to call them vitamins (vital amines). enlightenment: breathe in breathe out breathe in breathe out if you forget to do that enlightenment will make no difference. the point is that some things are essentials. vitamins, air, water, decent food, and a sense of safety. let us strive toward giving everyone a chance at those things.

By mary lou s on 08/15/2008 7:28 pm

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Sorry, but I for one am so weary of all the information that the “experts” are constantly providing us to supposedly enrich and lengthen our lives. The above article states that people with lower levels of Vitamin D “have a significantly higher risk of death than those with higher levels” (of Vitamin D). I thought that we all carried the same risk of death. When I was presenting tobacco cessation sessions at the hospital, the material covered included the statistic informing participants that a smoker has a 50% chance of dying from a smoking-related illness; I always had to bite my tongue at that point to stop myself from saying “and if you are a non-smoker you have a 100% chance of dying from something else”. I’m not against health promotion per se but for the average person, this micro-managing of our health with infinite studies is fairly useless. I’m not sure what the American equivalent might be, but up here we have “The Canada Food Guide” which is a nice basic guide for eating but I’m convinced that few people even follow that. Furthermore, the “experts” change their minds so often. There was even a revision to the Canada Food Guide this year so are we to believe that the former version was wrong after all? They’ve been telling us for years to use sunscreen all the time. Now they’re even suggesting that we need to be “protected” from the sun when we are in our cars. Of course the sun is a great source of Vitamin D and we’ve been missing out. No wonder so many people are depressed and anxious these days. (Search on the internet for information regarding the class action lawsuit that several major sunscreen manufacturers have just been through.) Very interesting. I know I sound like a bit of a wet blanket this morning. My mom is supposed to have surgery today and I’m not thinking it will turn out well. My prescription for health is to get some exercise, eat real food (not overly processed), don’t eat too much, get reasonable rest, take some vacations, avoid excessive anger and try to live in peace with others. Ladies (and gentlemen), wishing you a blessed day.

By Eliza S on 08/16/2008 11:32 am

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I know of a doctor who is treating Fibromyalgia with intense light and a vitamin D supplament. He is having great success with patients who follow his prescribed treatment. They are experiencing relief from intense pain and a diminishing of other symptoms. His work is experimental but he is a genius in the medical field.

By G T on 08/17/2008 10:45 am

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I found this fascinating discussion of the relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and obesity here: http://www.drcranton.com/nutrition/Vit_D_deficient-obesity.htm I wonder if part of the reason the kids are getting so tubby is that they are inside playing computer games instead of outside playing other games? Outside, as in the sunlight.

By Elizabeth Bennett on 08/17/2008 11:16 pm

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Interesting article but “increased risk of death?” It is my understanding that we will all die so by saying it may cause an “increased risk of death” seems a bit dramatic and a bit of a scare tactic. I’m sure they meant that you may die sooner but I think Vit D (as good as it may be) can’t save you from death.

By Kathleen Mull on 08/20/2008 12:12 pm

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I think you are misinterpreting. The study covered nine years. The group with low D levels had a higher rate of death at all ages than the group with good D levels. So do you want to live to ninety or die of cancer at 55? Vitamin D lowers the risk of some cancers by as much as fifty percent. I’d rather die of old age.

By Elizabeth Bennett on 08/21/2008 3:39 am

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Lol - I live in southwest Washington. From December to May this past year we had exactly TEN DAYS of sunshine. Better start drinking milk again!

By Chrome Toe on 08/21/2008 10:29 am

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Even if you had sunshine, in most of the 48 states, for at least nine months of the year, you can’t get enough vitamin D even if the sun is out. It has something to do with the angle of the sun or something. So it is smart to take a supplement and get blood tests ever winter to make sure you have enough vitamin D in your system.

By Elizabeth Bennett on 08/21/2008 12:36 pm

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I find this very interesting. I just found out last week that I am low in my Vitamin D……… When I went to my Pain Clinic about my problems with pain control The Doctor there told me that being low in Vitamin D can cause Pain to be more intense. She put me on a regime of Vitamin D………one big pill once a week for 12 weeks. She also added a lot of other minerals…flax seed oil………..fish oil. and three other over the counter drugs. Evidently the morphine and other pain drugs I take depleats my body of healthy minerals and vitamins. I’m open to anything that will make me healthier. I’m 76 and hoping for at least 92………..

By Dona Howlett on 08/31/2008 11:50 pm