Vitamin D: Lower Levels Of Sunshine Vitamin Could Cut Your Lifespan

According to the latest study people with lower levels of vitamin D in their blood are more susceptible to dieing sooner than people with higher levels of the so called sunshine vitamin, vitamin D in their blood.

The study also found that individuals who are deficient in the vitamin D have more than double the normal risk of having a heart attack.

Lead author of the study, Harald Dobnig, an internist and endocrinologist at the University of Graz in Austria said, "This is the first association study that shows vitamin D affects mortality regardless of the (primary) reason for death."

Sunlight is essential for the production of vitamin D in the body which makes skin healthy. Putting up sunscreen though interferes with this process and as we age, vitamin D production slows down as well.

Vitamin D helps in absorbing calcium, which helps in developing and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and teeth. The food items rich in vitamin D are eggs, liver, vitamin D fortified margarine, fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel) and fortified milk.

Generally people get enough vitamin D through exposure to sunlight during normal day-to-day outdoor activities but some people have very low levels of daily sun exposure. This could be due to their reduced outdoor activities, geographic conditions, modern lifestyle or air pollution. Doing a simple blood test can assess your risk and if you are at risk, make sure you have regular medical check-ups.

The team led by Dobnig looked at the data of more than 3, 200 men and women with the average age of 62, undergoing angiography. More than two-thirds had significant blockages in their coronary arteries.

The researchers did follow up for 8 years and during that time 747 people have died, 463 of them from heart disease.

Dobnig's team found that the deaths caused by any other causes and from cardiovascular disease were higher among people with the lowest levels of vitamin D.

The researchers wrote in the journal, "Apart from the proved effects that vitamin D has on bone metabolism and neuromuscular function, appropriate serum levels are associated with a decrease in mortality."

They concluded, "Although not proved, it seems possible that at least part of this effect may be due to lowering of a risk profile promoting atherosclerosis and preventing cardiovascular end points.”

The study appears in the June 23 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine and got funding from several drug manufacturers.

In year 2006, researchers from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam had found that an increase of vitamin D intake -- from supplements, diet or sun exposure -- may lower the risk of falls in the elderly.

A latest health study revealed that low levels of Vitamin D in men may put them at greater risk of a heart attack.

Another study found that deficiency of Vitamin D early in pregnancy leads to a five-fold increased risk of pre-eclampsia. American scientists previous week claimed that vitamin D may extend the lives of people with colondefine and rectal cancerdefine.

Vitamin D deficiency is alarmingly widespread among industrialized nations and that deficiency directly promotes osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancerdefine, tuberculosis, depressiondefine, calcium deficiency, gum disease, type 1 diabetesdefine, asthma and even schizophrenia. Insufficient exposure to sun is also linked to higher risk of multiple sclerosis.

Medical studies have suggested that Vitamin D may also help with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Alzheimer’s disease is often associated with low levels of vitamin D.

Deficiency of vitamin D early in life is associated with rickets, a disorder among children which was thought to have been eradicated in the US more than 50 years ago. Beforehand researchers thought that Vitamin D was essential only to prevent rickets and strengthening bones, Dr. Harald Dobnig said.

The scientists warned people that they should not start taking vitamin D pills or spend hours in the sun after reading the results of the study.

What we must remember is that too much sun exposure can perk up the risk of skin cancer, while too little can lead to vitamin D deficiency. Hence, a sensible balance is essential. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommendation sitting around half an hour to an hour outside in the sunlight or having 400 daily IU’s of vitamin D are enough for a person.

Dobnig said, "These results should prompt us to perform vitamin D measurements on a more frequent basis especially in populations at risk."

So, soaking in the sun for a while everyday will not increase your risk of cancer but it can actually do a lot of good say increasing life span among other health benefits.