Dementia: Vitamin D deficiency increases risk

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MunichThose who enjoy the sun when the weather is nice may protect themselves from Alzheimer's and other dementias. In a new study, scientists were able to show that vitamin D deficiency significantly increases the risk of memory loss, at least in the elderly.

Scientists from the University of Exeter Medical School determined the vitamin D content in the blood of 1,658 healthy people over the age of 65. If the level was below 50 nmol / L, there was a vitamin D deficiency; if the level fell below 25 nmol / L, the deficiency was classified as severe. Study director Dr. David Llewellyn and his team observed the subjects over a period of almost six years. 102 study participants developed Alzheimer's disease during this time, 70 another form of dementia.

Double the risk

The result: People with a vitamin D deficiency had a 53 percent higher risk of developing dementia, and if the deficiency was severe, the probability rose by as much as 125 percent. The scientists obtained a similar result when they looked at Alzheimer's disease separately. The risk for moderate vitamin D deficiency was increased by 69 percent and for severe vitamin D deficiency by 122 percent.

The researchers do not yet know the mechanisms behind this connection. It is also not clear whether, for example, vitamin D pills actually reduce the risk of dementia, according to Llewellyn. Because so far there has been a contradicting study situation as to whether expensive vitamin D supplements really bring something - doctors were in front of uncontrolled ingestion. “The next thing we want to do in large clinical studies is to test the effect of increasing vitamin D levels,” says Llewellyn.

Sun vitamin

Vitamin D can also be found in some foods, such as fish, but almost 90 percent of the requirement is generated by the action of the sun's rays in the skin. But often not enough: Experts assume that at least 60 percent of Germans have too low a vitamin D level in their blood in winter.

Changed personality

The term dementia encompasses various diseases, all of which are associated with a decline in mental performance and a change in personality. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. It is estimated that around 1.2 million people in Germany live with dementia. Every year 250,000 people fall ill in Germany alone. The number of dementias will double by 2050 because the proportion of old people in the total population increases. Even today, dementias are the most common reason for admission to a nursing home. (away)

Source: Llewellyn D. J. et al .: Vitamin D and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease. Neurology, August 2014, DOI: 10.1212 / WNL.0000000000000755

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