Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that is responsible for many functions in your body: it absorbs calcium for bone growth, promotes function of the immune system and neuromuscular system. (1) An enzyme, called 25(OH)D3-1a-hydroxylase, creates an active form of vitamin D (25(OH)D) which has shown to have neuroprotective properties. There are also vitamin D receptors located throughout the brain, including the hypothalamus and hippocampus. People who are deficient in vitamin D often times experience fatigue, tiredness, and brittle bones. In recent studies, vitamin D deficiencies have shown an increase risk in cognitive decline. (2) A review published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease indicated that overall observational studies pointed to an vitamin D levels and an association with cognitive outcome. The review also noted that vitamin D deficiency is an agent to oxidative stress within the brain. Oxidative stress is an imbalance of antioxidants and free radicals which will cause tissue damage. In an assessment of systematic reviews on the relationship of Vitamin D and cognition and dementia, the summary of the main results synthesized that there was a potential connection between vitamin D, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and cognitive impairment. (3) An experiment to monitor how vitamin D levels played a risk factor in Alzheimer’s disease was done on a diverse group of 1,658 participants who were initially free of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. 102 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. Using the Cox proportional hazards models, “Alzheimer disease in participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient and deficient compared to participants with sufficient concentrations were 2.22 (95% CI: 1.02–4.83) and 1.69 (95% CI: 1.06–2.69).” (4) This indicated that patients who with sufficient levels of vitamin D. The conclusion of this study stated that there was an association between deficiencies in vitamin D and the increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Extra information:

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/