I heard a stat about Vitamin D deficiency last week that I have not been able to confirm yet but I will throw it out there anyway. Apparently 90% of women have a Vitamin D deficiency and if this is true than this is a health problem that needs to be addressed.
Vitamin D deficiency can increase a person’s risk of death, according to a fresh study at the University of Eastern Finland. Researchers say individuals with low levels of vitamin D are about twice as likely to die early compared to those with higher levels. The study was published in the European Journal of Nutrition.
Vitamin D deficiency
Researchers studied the effects of vitamin D on over 1,000 people between the ages of 53 and 73 who did not suffer from cancer or vascular diseases. The subjects were monitored for an average of nine years. A total of 87 of the participants died during the course of the study.
Sixty-five percent of the subjects were found to have low levels of vitamin D. According to the study, a dearth of vitamin D increases the risk of chronic diseases.
During the summer months in Finland, humans are able to obtain vitamin D from exposure to the sun. However, persons living in Finland must rely on vitamin D from food or supplements during the darker months of the year or they will have a Vitamin D deficiency.
The University of Eastern Finland is now planning a large-scale project to study the effects of vitamin D supplements on cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Vitamin D Deficiency and Glycemic Problems
In another study looking at the future risk of glycemic (diabetic type) problems associated with low Vitamin D there were some interesting results as well.
Individuals with low levels of vitamin D measured 10 years ago showed a trend toward an increased risk of developing diabetes, researchers reported here.
Of the 58 prospectively followed individuals with low baseline levels of vitamin D, 14 had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes by 2010 — about 24.1%, reported Willy Valencia, MD, a fellow in geriatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida.
That compared with 10% of study participants (one of 10) with normal levels of vitamin D measured in 2000 who had developed type 2 diabetes 10 years later.
Willy Valencia presented the findings at at the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.
“Although these figures were not statistically significant, we see that after a 10-year follow-up there is a trend towards increased incidence of type 2 diabetes and higher levels of fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c in those with low vitamin D levels,” Willy Valencia told MedPage Today.
So what do you think? These are very interesting studies that point to the fact that a Vitamin D deficiency can be dangerous to your health both today and into the future and all it takes is some sun and vitamin supplements or foods high in Vitamin D to avoid Vitamin D deficiency.
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