According to research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vitamin D insufficiency may increase the risk of dementia and stroke.
The study evaluated more than 294,000 participants, mostly women over 60 living in the United Kingdom. Researchers used blood testing on all participants and neuroimaging technologies on almost 34,000 to explore links between vitamin D levels and dementia. The vitamin D level for normal blood was defined as 50 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L), whereas a deficiency was defined as having fewer than 25 nmol/L.
Over the next 11 years, it was found that low vitamin D levels were connected to an increased risk of dementia and stroke. According to this observational study, those with low vitamin D levels have a 54% higher risk of getting dementia than people with normal levels. Researchers recognised that their findings do not establish that supplementing with vitamin D, even if your blood level is low, can prevent dementia or stroke.
Also read: Study Finds Dementia Prevalence Has Dropped For Older Adults
Vitamin D And Dementia
In another study, researchers examined genetic data from nearly 295,000 people in the UK Biobank biomedical database. Scientists looked at gene variants in people to see how low vitamin D levels affected neuroimaging of the brain and their risk of dementia and stroke.
Researchers linked low vitamin D levels to decreased brain capacity and an increased risk of dementia and stroke. They also noted that their genetic research supported the causative effect of vitamin D deficiency on dementia.
What exactly is dementia?
Dementia is a group of disorders that affect a person's cognitive ability. Dementia impairs people's natural capacity to think, remember, and communicate. Dementia affects around 55 million individuals worldwide. According to researchers, that figure will rise to 78 million by 2030. The most frequent type of Alzheimer's disease is dementia.
Also read: Study Finds Not Treating Depression May Increase The Risk Of Dementia
Does Memory Loss Indicate The Onset Of Dementia?
One prevalent misconception concerning memory loss is that it invariably indicates dementia in you. Memory loss can be caused by a variety of factors. Memory loss on its own does not always indicate dementia.
It is also true that some memory alterations are common as people get older (some neurons in your brain naturally die as we age). This sort of memory loss, however, is not functionally detrimental; that is, it does not interfere with daily life. But dementia impairs your ability to function. Dementia is more than just forgetting where you put your keys. A person suffering from dementia may forget what keys are used for. Dementia is not a normal component of the ageing process.
Dementia is an umbrella term for a series of progressive, neuro-degenerative brain illnesses that manifest themselves in old age.
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