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Low Vitamin D not a cause of illness?

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
From Physician's First Watch on Friday:

Meta-Analysis Finds No Causal Relation Between Vitamin D Status and Health
By Amy Orciari Herman

Vitamin D's frequently observed association with health conditions is not causal, according to a meta-analysis in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Researchers analyzed data from 290 prospective cohort studies and 172 randomized trials examining the relation between serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and nonskeletal health conditions. In the cohort studies, higher 25 (OH)D concentrations generally were associated with lower likelihood of cardiovascular disease, lipid disorders, glucose metabolism disorders, infectious diseases, multiple sclerosis, mood disorders, and total mortality. However, the randomized trials showed no effect of vitamin D supplementation on these outcomes.

The authors conclude that low serum vitamin D may simply be a marker of poor health. They speculate that low concentrations "could be the result of inflammatory processes involved in the occurrence and progression of disease."

Link(s):
Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology article (Free abstract) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;67928201;6MaMJDh+Q8I2N2dxnEW59TCYob0GjLxGHjHQH7nM81o=
Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology editorial (Free) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;67928201;6MaMJDh+Q8I2N2dxnEW59S3vTbkWolUaHjHQH7nM81o=
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
The flaw here is we don´t know how much vitamin D was used and it what form. They normally use very low quantities and many people don´t absorb well pills. We don´t know if they measured the blood levels to see if they actually succeeded at raising the patient levels. I´ve seen many other studies that showed that raising 25-D levels trough supplementation does improve symptoms. For instance:

http://www.gwern.net/docs/zeo/2012-gominak.pdf

Now, it would be most interesting if they measured 1,25-D too in this one study and in all others.
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
The flaw here is we don´t know how much vitamin D was used and it what form. They normally use very low quantities and many people don´t absorb well pills. We don´t know if they measured the blood levels to see if they actually succeeded at raising the patient levels. I´ve seen many other studies that showed that raising 25-D levels trough supplementation does improve symptoms. For instance:

http://www.gwern.net/docs/zeo/2012-gominak.pdf

Now, it would be most interesting if they measured 1,25-D too in this one study and in all others.

Yes - it is complicated. As I have a long history of bowel problems I assumed that I would have poor nutrient absorption, so I now use a UVB lamp for about 8 minutes a day in winter for Vitamin D. I did some reading on the subject before getting it, notably this paper.
 

WillowJ

คภภเє ɠรค๓թєl
Messages
4,940
Location
WA, USA
it seems they did notice a difference in elderly women, and they seem to have presumed this was due to fall risk
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131216/Low-vitamin-D-a-consequence-not-a-cause-of-ill-health.aspx

I thought this bit was important:

Commenting on the findings in a press statement, Autier explained that the observed discrepancy between observational and randomized trials suggests “that decreases in vitamin D levels are a marker of deteriorating health.”

He added: “Ageing and inflammatory processes involved in disease occurrence and clinical course reduce vitamin D concentrations, which would explain why vitamin D deficiency is reported in a wide range of disorders.”