Vitamin D supplements linked to reduced dementia diagnoses in new study

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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW!

• Taking vitamin D supplements may reduce the risk of dementia by 40%.
• The study involved 12,388 participants with a mean age of 71.
• Vitamin D supplementation may be more effective in females and those without the APOEe4 gene.

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Researchers from the University of Calgary’s Brain Institute in Canada and the University of Exeter in the UK, partnered with the US National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center to conduct a large-scale study on the effects of vitamin D on dementia.

The study involved 12,388 participants, with a mean age of 71, who were dementia-free when they signed up. Of the group, 37% (4,637) took vitamin D supplements. The team found that taking vitamin D supplements was associated with a 40% lower risk of dementia diagnosis in the group who took supplements.

The vitamin was also linked to living dementia-free for longer periods. The effects of vitamin D were more significant in females and in people without the APOEe4 gene.

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The study found that taking vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of dementia by 40%. The research involved 12,388 participants with a mean age of 71 who were dementia-free when they signed up.

Previous research has shown that insufficient levels of vitamin D are linked to a higher dementia risk. Vitamin D is involved in the clearance of amyloid in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, and may help protect the brain against the build-up of tau, another protein involved in the development of dementia.

The study suggests that vitamin D supplementation may be more effective in females and in people without the APOEe4 gene. The ongoing VitaMIND study at the University of Exeter is exploring this issue further by randomly assigning participants to either take vitamin D or placebo and examining changes in memory and thinking tests over time.

Source: goodnewsnetwork.org