News
Insufficient vitamin D status may increase risk of kidney disease
24 July 2013
Low blood vitamin D levels seem to increase the likelihood of developing protein in the urine, an early sign of kidney disease, reports a new Australian study.
22 November 2013
A new US study reports that low blood vitamin D levels seem to increase the risk of red blood cell deficiency in healthy children.
In the observational study, the concentrations of vitamin D and hemoglobin were measured in the blood samples of 10,410 apparently healthy children and adolescents, aged 1 to 21 years (1). The study results showed that vitamin D levels were consistently lower in children with low hemoglobin levels compared with non-anemic children. Children with mild vitamin D deficiency (levels below 30 nanograms per milliliter) had nearly twice the risk of anemia compared with those who had normal vitamin D levels. Black children had higher rates of anemia compared with white children (14% vs. 2%) and had considerably lower vitamin D levels overall, but their risk of anemia did not increase until their vitamin D levels dropped far lower than those of white children.
The researchers commented that these results are not proof of cause and effect, but rather evidence of a complex interplay between low vitamin D levels and hemoglobin (the oxygen-binding protein in red blood cells). If the findings are confirmed through further research, low vitamin D levels may turn out to be a readily modifiable risk factor for anemia that can be easily treated with supplements. The racial variance seen in the study shows that a pathologically low vitamin D level in some may appear to be adequate in others. This would raise questions about the current one-size-fits-all approach to treatment and supple- mentation.
Anemia, which occurs when the body does not have enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells, is believed to affect one in five children at some point in their lives. Several large scale studies have found severe vitamin D deficiency (at or below 20 ng/ml) in about one-tenth of US children, while nearly 70% have suboptimal levels. Untreated chronic anemia and vitamin D deficiency can have wide-ranging health consequences, including organ damage, skeletal deformities and frequent fractures, and lead to premature osteoporosis in later life. Several mechanisms could account for the link between vitamin D and anemia, including vitamin D's effects on red blood cell production in bone marrow, as well as its ability to regulate immune inflam- mation, a known catalyst of anemia.
24 July 2013
Low blood vitamin D levels seem to increase the likelihood of developing protein in the urine, an early sign of kidney disease, reports a new Australian study.
19 June 2010
Higher blood levels of vitamin D may not reduce the risk of developing rarer cancers, reports a new US study.
25 February 2013
According to a new study, increased intakes of antioxidants found in coffee and tea, such as flavonoids, do not seem to decrease the risk of developing stroke or dementia for elderly people. Other studies observed potential preventive effects of higher consumptions of fruits and vegetables containing antioxidant beta-carotene and vitamins C and E.