We can no longer wait to implement vitamin D programs in all walks of medicine - pregnancy, pediatrics, adult physicals, and disease treatment. Our disease incidence prevention chart gives a view of how much disease would be prevented if the population increased their serum 25(OH)D levels. The bars for each disease show the percent reduction in incidence at specific serum 25(OH)D levels compared to the reference serum level of 25 ng/ml (i.e.  83% fewer cases of breast cancer with a 25(OH)D level of at least 50 ng/ml vs. 25 ng/ml- pink bar).  

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Unfortunately cancer is so prevalent in our society that it got its own issue last week. Please read this newsletter - for a full summary of how vitamin D can reduce cancer. It is significant. Serum levels equal to or greater than 40 ng/ml are associated with > 65% lower risk of cancer.  

A birth cohort study was done in Finland, enrolling women who gave birth in 1966 and following their children to 1997. 12,055 women were enrolled and 10,366 children were included in the analysis.  Data was taken during the infants' first year of life about frequency of vitamin D supplementation and whether it was at, above or below the recommended dose of 2000 IU/day.  Children with regular supplementation, regardless of dose, had a lower rate of type 1 diabetes than those who did not.  Among those who received regular vitamin D supplementation, those receiving at least 2000 IU/day had an 80% reduced risk of type 1 diabetes compared to those who received smaller doses.

GrassrootsHealth did an analysis of type 2 diabetes, comparing GrassrootsHealth D*action participants with the NHANES cohort. GrassrootsHealth participants ≥ 20 years of age (N=4933) had a median serum level of 41 ng/ml and a type 2 diabetes incidence rate of 3.7 per 1000 population. In contrast, the NHANES cohort from 2005-6 (N=4078) had a median serum level of 22 ng/ml and a type 2 diabetes incidence rate of 9.3 per 1000 population. Participants in the GrassrootsHealth cohort had a 60% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to participants in the NHANES cohort after adjusting for age, gender, race, BMI and smoking status.

A study at a nursing home facility in Boston was conducted to determine if vitamin D could help reduce the risk of falls. The study included 124 residents, with an average age of 89, randomly assigned to one of 5 groups: placebo, 200 IU/day, 400 IU/day, 600 IU/day, or 800 IU/day. This study found 72% lower risk of falls in the 800 IU/day group (30 ng/ml average) vs. the placebo (24 ng/ml average).

A nested case-control study was done using stored serum samples of US military personnel. All multiple sclerosis (MS) cases diagnosed between 1992 - 2004 (N = 257) were matched with two similar controls. The researchers found a 62% lower risk of MS with serum levels greater than 40 ng/ml compared to <25 ng/ml.

For a more detailed look at latitude, vitamin D, and how to treat MS with vitamin D, please read our five March 2016 newsletters.

Bruce W. Hollis and Carol L. Wagner at the Medical University of South Carolina, conducted two double-blind placebo controlled trials to study the safety and effectiveness of supplementing pregnant women with vitamin D. In one trial (NICHD), participants were randomized into three groups: 400 IU/day, 2000 IU/day, 4000 IU/day. The second trial (Thrasher) had two groups: 2000 IU/day and 4000 IU/day. Recently, GrassrootsHealth analyzed the data from these trials by achieved serum 25(OH)D level and found maternal vitamin D serum levels ≥ 40 ng/ml were associated with a 59% lower risk of preterm birth compared to levels ≤20 ng/ml.

A cohort study at a hospital in Turkey tested pregnant women for serum 25(OH)D levels mid-pregnancy and 6 months post-partum (N=179). The women were screened for post partum depression after 1 week, 6 weeks, and 6 months. There were 71% fewer women with post-partum depression among those who had serum levels ≥ 20 ng/ml compared to those with serum levels < 10 ng/ml.

 

The Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART) was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in three centers across the US. 881 pregnant women in their first trimester were randomized into two groups - 4000 IU/day + prenatal vitamin (with 400 IU) or placebo + prenatal vitamin. Measurements were taken of the mother in their third trimester and of the child at three years old. Supplementing pregnant mothers with 4400 IU/day (vs. 400 IU/day) lowered the incidence of asthma and recurrent wheezing in children (through 3 years of age) by 20%.