Vitamin D levels in blood can predict future health risks in ageing men

A new study says that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk for developing many age-related diseases like CVD, cancer and osteoporosis.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that is needed for overall health. This vitamin is important to regulate calcium and maintain phosphorus levels in the blood. It makes your bones stronger. It also brings down your risk of cancer, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Any deficiency in this vitamin is bad news for overall health. However, this fat soluble vitamin is available in very few food sources and supplements are your best bet to avoid a deficiency. You can also get this from sunlight. Now, researchers have found that free and circulating vitamin D levels in the blood may be a better predictor of future health risks in ageing men. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk for developing many ageing-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis, according to the study at University Hospitals Leuven, presented at e-ECE 2020 online conference on Tuesday.

Active form of vitamin D in body predicts health

There are several forms, or metabolites, of vitamin D in the body but it is the total amount of these metabolites that are most often used to assess the vitamin D status of people, the researchers said. The prohormone, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D is converted to 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, which is considered the active form of vitamin D in our body. More than 99 per cent of all vitamin D metabolites in our blood are bound to proteins, so only a very small fraction is free to be biologically active. Therefore, the free, active forms may be a better predictor of current and future health.

Free and bound Vitamin D metabolites linked to higher risk of death

For the findings, the research team from University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium investigated whether the free metabolites of vitamin D were better health predictors, using data from the European Male Ageing Study, which was collected from 1,970 men, aged 40-79. The levels of total and free metabolites of vitamin D were compared with their current health status, adjusting for potentially confounding factors, including age, body mass index, smoking and self-reported health. The total levels of both free and bound vitamin D metabolites were associated with a higher risk of death. However, only free 25-hydroxyvitamin D was predictive of future health problems and not free 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency is bad for health

According to researchers, these data confirm that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a negative impact on general health and can be predictive of a higher risk of death. Most studies focus on the association between total 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and age-related disease and mortality. As 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D is the active form of vitamin D in our body, it was possible it could have been a stronger predictor for disease and mortality. It has also been debated if the total or free vitamin D levels should be measured. The data of this study suggest that both total and free 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are the better measures of future health risk in men.

(With inputs from IANS)