A Study Suggests Vitamin D in the Blood Can Tell One's Health Risks and Death in the Future
Specifically in Europe, vitamin D deficiency is already common, particularly in older adults and it has been linked to a greater risk of developing several age-related illnesses like cardiovascular disease or CVD, cancer, and osteoporosis.
New data recently suggest that free, an antecedent form of vitamin D that circulates in the bloodstream is a more precise predictor of health and illness risk in the future, compared to the frequently measured total amount of vitamin D.
According to the study, since the lack of vitamin D is linked to various serious health conditions as an individual gets older, it proposes that further examination into vitamin D levels, a swell as their association with poor health may be a potential "area for further investigation."
Specifically in Europe, vitamin D deficiency is already common, particularly in older adults. It has been linked to a greater risk of developing several age-related illnesses like cardiovascular disease or CVD, cancer, and osteoporosis.
Nonetheless, the said research also indicates that Vitamin D in the body has various forms or metabolites although it is the total amount of the latter-mentioned that's most frequently used to evaluate people's vitamin D status.
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Predictor of Heath, Present and Future
The research indicates that the 25-dihycroxyvitamin D prohormone is converted to "1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which is considered as" vitamin D's active form in the human body.
In connection to the study, over 99 percent of all vitamin D metabolites in the blood said to be "bound to protein" and thus, only a relatively small fraction is free to be inherently active.
As a result, the said free, active forms may be considered better predictors of both present and future health.
Belgium-based University Hospitals Leuven's Dr. Leen Antonio and a team of colleagues examined whether vitamin D's free metabolites were better predictors, through the use of data from the "European Male Aging Study."
Using the said data, the researchers involved nearly 2,000 community-dwelling 40- to -79-year-old men.
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Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and its Impact on Health
The study also specified that the levels of vitamin D's metabolites were compared against their present health status, adjusting for probably "confounding factors" which include age, body mass index, or BMI, and self-reported health, among others.
Furthermore, the total levels of both bound and free vitamin D metabolites were linked to a higher risk of mortality.
Nevertheless, researchers found that only free 25-hydroxyvitamin D was said to be predictive of future health concerns and not the "free 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.
According to Dr. Antonio, the data they collected confirm that the lack of vitamin D is linked to the negative effect on general health. It can also be predictive of higher mortality risk, added the health expert.
Since this is observational research, the causal associations, as well as the underlying mechanisms stay unidentified.
It was implausible to attain specific information too, about the probable causes of death of the male participants of the study, which, according to authors, "maybe a confounding factor."
Most research works concentrate on the link between the total levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and age-related illness and death.
Furthermore, according to Dr. Antonion, the data now propose that both the free and total 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are better gauges of risk of future health in men.
Reports said, the medical expert and her team are presently finalizing the statistical analysis and drafting a manuscript on these particular findings.
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