News
Taking medication daily may increase the risk of vitamin deficiency
24 June 2011
Daily intake of three or more drugs can be associated with a low status of vitamin D, K, and the B-vitamins in the elderly, a new Austrian study suggests.
17 November 2011
According to new studies, a sufficient blood vitamin D concentration may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In a 16-year-long study of 2,016 healthy, postmenopausal women, ages 45 to 58, compared low and adequate blood vitamin D concentrations to incidences of death, heart failure, heart attack, and stroke. Low vitamin D concentration was defined as less than 20 nanograms per milliliter. The study results showed that women with low vitamin D levels were more subject to heart-disease risk factors compared to the women with adequate vitamin D. Women with low vitamin D levels also had higher triglycerides, fasting glucose, and body mass index results. Their high-density lipoprotein ( HDL, “good” cholesterol) levels were lower, as were hip-waist ratios. Of the women with low vitamin D, 15% suffered heart failure, heart attack, or stroke – which often led to death – compared to 10.2 percent of the group with adequate vitamin D.
Another study suggests that vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties could protect the heart. Study participants who took 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily for 5 days after an acute coronary event had less post-event inflammation than patients who did not take vitamin D. The study sheds light on the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D on the vascular system and may explain some of the vitamin’s cardio-protective properties.
Moreover, a new 2-year study of 982 patients with chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndrome indicate that vitamin D status may help to predict mortality for sufferers of this disease: vitamin D levels were markedly lower among patients who died than in long-term survivors over the 2-year study. In an additional trial, higher concentrations of vitamin D were consistently associated with lower death rates from vascular and non-vascular causes.
24 June 2011
Daily intake of three or more drugs can be associated with a low status of vitamin D, K, and the B-vitamins in the elderly, a new Austrian study suggests.
6 September 2013
A new study from India suggests that anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D may contribute to the treatment of gingivitis, an inflammation of the gum tissue.
1 March 2012
The use of medication worldwide is growing continually, not least because of the rising age of the population. Today there are many people who take more than three different kinds of medication daily (1,2). In highly developed countries, it is particularly common for patients to be prescribed medication long-term, most frequently for the treatment of widespread chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. It is also a common practice in those regions to take over-the-counter medicines, including painkillers and medication for stomach ulcers (3,4). When several kinds of medication are taken concomitantly, the risks and side effects increase. In contrast to other adverse drug reactions, the inter-action between medications and micronutrients is only gradually gaining the attention of experts and the wider public. A number of medicines influence the metabolism of vitamins, minerals and trace elements in such a way that they could lead to insufficiencies or even deficiency symptoms in patients (5,6).