Benefits of Vitamin D: A Nursing Home Perspective

Vitamin D supplementation can increase bone density. In one study, people with vitamin D deficiency were supplemented with 50,000 D international units of vitamin D twice a week, increasing the bone density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck for five weeks.

Vitamin D and calcium can reduce fractures in the elderly, but vitamin D alone cannot effectively reduce the risk of falls or fractures. People over 65 with low vitamin D content have an increased risk of hip fractures and decreased muscle mass and strength.

Vitamin D can reduce the risk of falls. It can do this by improving muscle function. A low vitamin D level in the blood is related to the worst muscle function, and a higher vitamin D level is related to better muscle function. When supplemented with vitamin D, people with a low baseline serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (between 10-20 ng/ml) may benefit the most in terms of muscle strength.

When you consume 700 to 1,000 international units of vitamin D supplements daily, the risk of falling is reduced, when 500,000 units of cholecalciferol are given once a year, the chance of falling increases.

cancer

Vitamin D and cancer has been established. Vitamin D can help prevent colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Precancerous lesions of the gut and breast are related to the lack of vitamin D receptors in animals.

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Many cancers are related to low vitamin D status. People with inadequate vitamin D status have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. An analysis showed that those who consume 1000 international units of vitamin D per day have a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Another study showed that vitamin D intake was negatively related to colorectal cancer risk. Although the data on vitamin D is positive, the research is inconsistent. The National Cancer Institute does not recommend or oppose the use of vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer or any other cancer.

Some studies have shown that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration is linked to reducing breast cancer risk, but found no statistical significance. More research is needed to determine the role of vitamin D in breast cancer risk.

There is some evidence that vitamin D can be harmful. A large-scale prospective study showed that vitamin D does not lower the risk of prostate cancer, but that higher circulating vitamin D levels are linked to an increased risk of aggressive disease. Other research suggests that people with the highest vitamin D levels may have a higher risk of pancreatic cancer.

While some studies have shown that vitamin D can reduce the risk of certain cancers, the current evidence does not recommend the use of high doses of vitamin D to prevent cancer. A large-scale analysis of more than 16,000 people showed that overall cancer mortality has nothing to do with vitamin D status at baseline. Overall, research does not support vitamin D’s role in cancer prevention. More research is needed to determine the exact link between cancer and vitamin D.

immune system

Vitamin D affects the immune system. Vitamin D can reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases in animals. Conditions that can be affected by vitamin D status include type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Vitamin D supplementation in early infants can reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes. One study showed that people with a serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 20 ng / mL would have an approximately two-fold increase in the incidence of multiple sclerosis in the future. Currently, the only animal, in vitro, and epidemiological studies suggest an association between diabetes / multiple sclerosis and vitamin D. A randomized controlled trial is needed to reach a definitive conclusion.

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A higher vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of Crohn’s disease. The reduced regulation of vitamin D is linked to the development of autoimmune processes in animals (including inflammatory bowel disease). Taking vitamin D can improve these symptoms.

Vitamin D can help to fight bacterial and viral infections. Vitamin D levels are related to tuberculosis. Vitamin D deficiency common in patients with tuberculosis. Vitamin D may play a role in treating tuberculosis, but more research is needed before this connection is established.

Vitamin D levels may have a beneficial effect on viral respiratory infections, but this relationship has not been firmly established. Several studies have not found an association between vitamin D status and the prevention of viral respiratory infections. A recent analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation could reduce the risk of viral upper respiratory infections and tuberculosis.

Vitamin D and the heart

Vitamin D regulates many genes in the cardiovascular system. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and heart failure. The research on vitamin D and cardiovascular disease. Observational studies have shown a link between cardiovascular disease and vitamin D status. More research is needed to determine the role of vitamin D supplementation in cardiovascular disease.

The renin-angiotensin system is regulated to some extent by vitamin D. Hypertension has an inverse relationship to the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. More research is needed to confirm the causal relationship between vitamin D levels and blood pressure.

In a retrospective study, five of the seven studies showed that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were negatively correlated with cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of coronary heart disease in people with a low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration is higher than that in people with a low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration. Vitamin D supplementation has no beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors, and there is no benefit after increasing the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D from 23 ng/ml to more than 40 ng/ml.

Vitamin D and other diseases

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Diabetes is related to vitamin D. The relationship between vitamin D and type 1 diabetes has been discussed above. Low vitamin D levels are associated with type 2 diabetes. A higher intake of vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Despite these correlations, interventional studies of vitamin D have not proven that vitamin D supplementation increases the risk of developing diabetes. Diabetes.

Vitamin D is essential for brain development so that it may be related to psychopathology. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and depression have low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. These studies have not proven that low vitamin D levels are the cause of these diseases.

Low vitamin D levels can increase the risk of death. While there is a link between vitamin D and all-cause death, it is unclear whether this increased risk of death is related to vitamin D deficiency or merely poor general health. Some studies have shown that cancer patients have higher vitamin D levels and a lower risk of death, but other studies have shown no link between cancer death and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.