07 December 2012
Two new studies suggest that adequate intakes and blood concentrations of vitamin D may be preventive in cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in older women.
In a French study, 498 women aged 75 years and older and free of vitamin D supplements were divided into three groups according to the onset of dementia within seven years: participants who developed Alzheimer’s disease (AD), other dementias or no dementia (1). The women’s vitamin D dietary intakes were estimated at the beginning of the study from a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. The study results showed that after considering potential confounders (e.g., initial cognitive performance, education level, physical activity, sun exposure, disability, number of chronic diseases, depression, use of psychoactive drugs, and season) higher vitamin D dietary intake was associated with a lower risk of developing AD. Women who developed Alzheimer’s disease had lower vitamin D intakes (an average of 50.3 µg per week) than those who developed other dementias (an average of 63.6 µg per week) or no dementia at all (an average of
59.0 µg per week).
In a US cohort study, blood vitamin D concentrations and the degree of cognitive decline was measured in 6,257 elderly women for four years (2). The study results showed that women with very low vitamin D levels (below 10 ng/mL resp. 25 nmol/L) had a significantly higher risk of developing cognitive impairment than participants with higher blood vitamin D concentrations (above 30 ng/mL resp. 75 nmol/L). Among cognitive-ly-impaired women, low vitamin D levels (less than 20 ng/mL) were associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline.
Earlier studies had already associated insufficient vitamin D intakes and blood concentrations with cognitive decline among older adults (3). The relationship between vitamin D and cognitive decline is not well under-stood.
30 March 2016
Increasing evidence demonstrates that risk factors for chronic diseases are established during childhood and adolescence, but the relationship between the development of diseases and adolescent development is poorly understood. Adolescence is a crucial period in life and involves multiple physiological and psychological changes that affect nutritional needs and habits.
27 February 2013
According to an U.S. expert panel, healthy postmenopausal women are not being recommended to add low-dose supplements with calcium and vitamin D to their diet as there is not enough evidence to determine whether it helps to prevent broken bones. These recommendations do not apply to people who already have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, a history of fractures or falls or are living in an assisted-living community.
1 March 2013
Sustainability has become fundamental to many global policy agendas in areas relating to human impact on the earth’s resources, such as with food production and consumption.
