Researchers at the University of South Australia have found a direct link between a lack of vitamin D and dementia.
In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study involved the analysis of data of close to 300,000 participants from the UK Biobank.
The authors examined the impact of vitamin D deficiency and the risk of dementia and stroke. Researchers used nonlinear Mendelian randomization.
“We used prospective data from the UK Biobank (37–73 y at baseline) to examine the association between 25(OH)D concentrations with neuroimaging outcomes and the risk of dementia and stroke,” according to the journal findings.
“Low vitamin D status was associated with neuroimaging outcomes and the risks of dementia and stroke even after extensive covariate adjustment,” the findings concluded.
“MR analyses support a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency on dementia but not on stroke risk.”
