[PHNUTR-L] Vitamin D supplements appear to be associated with lower risk of death

[Kathrynne Holden]

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Public release date: 10-Sep-2007
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/jaaj-vds090607.php

Contact: Philippe Autier, M.D.
autierp at iarc.fr
JAMA and Archives Journals

Vitamin D supplements appear to be associated with lower risk of death

Individuals who take vitamin D supplements appear to have a lower risk 
of death from any cause over an average follow-up time of six-years, 
according to a meta-analysis of 18 previously published studies in the 
September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the 
JAMA/Archives journals.

Past studies have suggested that deficiencies in vitamin D might be 
associated with a higher risk of death from cancer, heart disease and 
diabetes—illnesses that account for 60 percent to 70 percent of deaths 
in high-income nations, according to background information in the 
article. “If the associations made between vitamin D and these 
conditions were consistent, then interventions effectively strengthening 
vitamin D status should result in reduced total mortality,” the authors 
write.

Philippe Autier, M.D., of the International Agency for Research on 
Cancer, Lyon, France, and Sara Gandini, Ph.D., of the European Institute 
of Oncology, Milano, Italy, searched for randomized controlled trials of 
vitamin D supplements published before November 2006. They analyzed 18 
separate trials that included 57,311 participants and evaluated doses of 
vitamin D ranging from 300 to 2,000 international units, with an average 
dose of 528 international units. Most commercially available supplements 
contain between 400 and 600 international units.

Over an average follow-up period of 5.7 years, 4,777 of the participants 
died. Individuals who took vitamin D had a 7 percent lower risk of death 
than those who did not. In the nine trials that collected blood samples, 
those who took supplements had an average 1.4- to 5.2-fold higher blood 
level of vitamin D than those who did not.

“Mechanisms by which vitamin D supplementation would decrease all-cause 
mortality are not clear,” the authors write. Vitamin D could inhibit 
some mechanisms by which cancer cells proliferate, or it may boost the 
function of blood vessels or the immune system, they note.

“In conclusion, the intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements 
seems to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates,” the 
authors write. “The relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose 
of vitamin D supplements and total mortality rates remains to be 
investigated. Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials in 
people 50 years or older for at least six years with total mortality as 
the main end point should be organized to confirm these findings.”

(Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(16):1730-1737. Available pre-embargo to the 
media at www.jamamedia.org.)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, 
including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, 
financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Editorial: Vitamin D and Total Mortality

The meta-analysis “adds a new chapter in the accumulating evidence for a 
beneficial role of vitamin D on health,” writes Edward Giovannucci, 
M.D., Sc.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, in an 
accompanying editorial.

“Research on vitamin D should be continued to clearly elucidate the 
specific benefits and optimal intakes and levels of vitamin D,” Dr. 
Giovannucci writes. “Nonetheless, based on the total body of evidence of 
health conditions associated with vitamin D deficiency, abetted with the 
results from this meta-analysis, a more proactive attitude to identify, 
prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency should be part of standard 
medical care. From a broader public health perspective, the roles of 
moderate sun exposure, food fortification with vitamin D and higher-dose 
vitamin D supplements for adults need to be debated.”

(Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(16):1709-1710. Available pre-embargo to the 
media at www.jamamedia.org.)
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
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