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Vitamin D Insufficiency Blog

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Vitamin D May Affect Lung Transplant Success

Posted 27 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, April 27 – Vitamin D is important for the health of lung transplant patients, a new study suggests. Researchers from Loyola University Health System in Chicago found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in lung transplant rejection and infections. "Patients who undergo lung transplants are at risk for rejecting the organ, and two-thirds of these patients are vitamin D deficient," Dr. Erin Lowery, the study's first author and assistant professor in the department of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said in a health system news release. For the study, researchers examined 102 lung transplant patients. The participants had their vitamin D levels checked within 100 days of their surgery or 100 days after the operation. Normal vitamin D levels were found in 21 patients, but 81 transplant recipients were ... Read more

Lack of Vitamin D May Harm Older Women's Health

Posted 6 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 6 – Vitamin D deficiency is common among women in nursing homes and is associated with an increased risk of death, a new study finds. The findings highlight the need to prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency, according to lead author Dr. Stefan Pilz, of the Medical University of Graz in Austria, and colleagues. Their study of nearly 1,000 female nursing home residents, average age almost 84, in Austria found that 284 (30 percent) of the patients died after an average follow-up time of 27 months. The researchers also found that almost 93 percent had lower-than-recommended vitamin D levels. The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. "Our findings show that the vast majority of nursing home residents are severely vitamin D deficient and those with the lowest vitamin D levels are at high risk of mortality," Pilz said in a ... Read more

Mom's Vitamin D Levels Linked to Language Problems in Kids

Posted 13 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Feb. 13 – Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D may be putting their children at risk for language difficulties, Australian researchers report. Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy may relieve the problem, they suggest. "Adequate vitamin D levels among pregnant women may be important for the optimal development of their baby," said lead researcher Andrew Whitehouse, an associate professor and reader in developmental psychopathology at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia. "However, it is important for the findings of this study to be replicated before any strong conclusions are made." Vitamin D levels among pregnant women have decreased steadily over the past 20 years, most likely because of less exposure to sunlight, Whitehouse said. "The effects of lower maternal vitamin D levels on the developing offspring is ... Read more

Too Much Vitamin D Could Be Harmful to Heart

Posted 10 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 10 – Studies have shown that vitamin D is critical for bone health and could have a protective benefit for the heart, but new research suggests that too much of it could actually be harmful. "Clearly, vitamin D is important for your heart health, especially if you have low blood levels of vitamin D. It reduces cardiovascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, and may reduce mortality, but it appears that at some point it can be too much of a good thing," study leader Dr. Muhammad Amer, an assistant professor in the division of general internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a Hopkins news release. In conducting the study, published in the Jan. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers examined five years of data from a national survey of more than 15,000 adults. They found that people with a normal levels of vitamin D ... Read more

Low Vitamin D May Increase Stroke, Heart Attack Risk in Women

Posted 15 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Nov. 15 – Low levels of vitamin D may put women at greater risk for heart attack and stroke, according to one of several new studies on the important nutrient. After analyzing 16 years of data on more than 2,000 healthy, postmenopausal white women aged 45 to 58, researchers found that the 788 women with a vitamin D deficiency had more risk factors for heart disease than 1,225 women with normal levels of the vitamin. They were scheduled to present their findings Tuesday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. Women with low vitamin D levels had higher levels of triglycerides; higher fasting glucose; a higher body mass index; and lower HDL "good" cholesterol. The researchers noted 47 percent of the women who were deficient in vitamin D were smokers compared to 38 percent of the women with normal vitamin D levels. About 15 percent of the women deficient ... Read more

Vitamin D Lacking in Many Spine Surgery Patients

Posted 4 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Nov. 4 – Low vitamin D levels are common among spine surgery patients and may delay their recovery, a new study says. Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption. Spine surgery patients with low levels of the vitamin may have difficulty producing new bone, explained researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They assessed 313 patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery and found that more than half of them had inadequate levels of vitamin D, including one-fourth who were severely deficient. The study was scheduled for presentation Thursday at the annual meeting of the North American Spine Society in Chicago. "Our findings suggest it may be worthwhile to screen surgery patients for vitamin D," principal investigator Dr. Jacob M. Buchowski said in a university news release. "We think those with insufficient levels of vitamin D may benefit from taking 50,000 ... Read more

Research Sheds Light on Vitamin D's Role in Immunity

Posted 12 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 – Vitamin D plays a critical role in the body's ability to fight off infections like tuberculosis (TB) – a potentially fatal lung disease, according to a new study. An international team of researchers found that vitamin D, which is a natural hormone, is linked to human immune reactions and might also help protect against cancer and autoimmune diseases. In conducting the study, the investigators examined how the body manages to kill or stop the growth of pathogens such as M. tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB. They found the white blood cells, or T-cells, that are critical to the body's ability to fight off infections cannot function properly without adequate levels of vitamin D. On the other hand, the study, published in the Oct. 12 online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine, found there was an 85 percent drop in the TB bacteria when there ... Read more

Related support groups: Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

Many Black Men in Cold Climates Lack Vitamin D

Posted 23 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 23 – People's bodies build up vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, But a new study suggests black men who live in areas of the United States with low sunlight are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency than whites who live in the same places. The researchers say the findings show that current vitamin D recommendations need to change. "This study shows that across-the-board vitamin D recommendations just won't work for everybody," said study researcher Dr. Adam B. Murphy, clinical instructor in the department of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in an American Association for Cancer Research news release. "With so many diseases linked to low levels of vitamin D, we should have more stratified recommendations to consider groups within the population instead of making monolithic suggestions," he said. The researchers studied vitamin D ... Read more

Related support groups: Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

Psoriatic Arthritis Patients Seem to Lack Enough Vitamin D

Posted 11 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, July 11 – Vitamin D insufficiency is common among people with psoriatic arthritis, but levels of the vitamin in the blood do not affect disease activity, a new study finds. People with psoriatic arthritis have the chronic skin disorder psoriasis accompanied by inflammatory arthritis. The study, published in the July 11 issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research, included more than 300 patients living in Toronto and Haifa, Israel, two geographically diverse locations. Vitamin D levels in the blood – known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D] – were measured in the summer and winter. Vitamin D is produced by the skin in response to exposure to sunlight. It is also found in certain foods, including eggs, fish and fortified foods such as dairy products and breakfast cereals. In the Canadian patients, 56 percent had insufficient 25 (OH) D levels during the winter and 59 percent ... Read more

Related support groups: Psoriatic Arthritis, Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

New Guidelines Put Focus on Vitamin D Deficiency

Posted 9 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, June 8 – It has long been known that getting enough vitamin D is key to bone health, yet vitamin D deficiency remains a common health issue, experts say. According to the Endocrine Society, very few foods naturally contain or are fortified with vitamin D, and sunlight is one of the best sources of the nutrient. People who don't get enough vitamin D are at risk for calcium, phosphorus and bone metabolism abnormalities, which can lead to a number of diseases, including osteoporosis. Children with a vitamin D deficiency can also develop skeletal deformities known as rickets, the experts pointed out in a society news release. "Vitamin D deficiency is very common in all age groups, and it is important that physicians and health-care providers have the best evidence-based recommendations for evaluating, treating and preventing vitamin D deficiency in patients at highest risk," Dr. ... Read more

Related support groups: Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

MS in Blacks Linked to Low Vitamin D

Posted 24 May 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, May 24 – Black people with multiple sclerosis are more likely to have vitamin D deficiencies than blacks who don't have the disease, a new study shows. The study, published in the May 24 issue of the journal Neurology, also said the deficiency is due primarily to differences in climate and geography. "MS is not as common in African-Americans as it is in whites, although the disease tends to be more severe in African-Americans," study author Dr. Ari J. Green, of the University of California, San Francisco, said in an American Academy of Neurology news release. "We have known that vitamin D levels are associated with MS and that African-Americans are at increased risk for having low vitamin D levels, but little research has been done to look at vitamin D levels in African-Americans with MS," he said. The study involved 339 people with MS and 342 people who did not have the ... Read more

Related support groups: Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

Obese Teens Lack Vitamin D, Study Finds

Posted 4 May 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, May 4 – Low levels of vitamin D are common in obese adolescents, a new study finds. Researchers screened 68 obese adolescents and found low vitamin D levels in all of the girls (72 percent were deemed deficient and 28 percent insufficient) and in 91 percent of the boys (69 percent deficient and 22 percent insufficient). After treatment, 43 of the youths had their vitamin D levels measured again and, although levels generally increased, normal levels were achieved in just 28 percent of the participants. In the others, repeated bouts of vitamin D treatment did not bring the teens' vitamin D levels to normal, which the researchers described as "concerning." The adolescents' lack of response to treatment may be due to the fact that vitamin D is sequestered in body fat, the researchers said. "The prevalence of low vitamin D status among obese adolescents in this study is greater ... Read more

Related support groups: Obesity, Vitamin D Insufficiency

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to More Aggressive Breast Cancers

Posted 2 May 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, April 29 – Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D have more aggressive tumors and poorer outcomes, a new study finds. Experts say the new findings support what many oncologists have long suspected. "There has been suspicion that vitamin D is related to breast health in some way, although the particular pathway is still unknown," noted Dr. Laurie Kirstein, a breast surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "Many oncologists are already following vitamin D levels in their breast cancer patients, and recommending supplements for low levels," added Kirstein, who was not involved in the new study. "To link vitamin D levels to the aggressiveness of a particular type of breast cancer is an interesting finding; one that should be validated with a controlled trial." In the study, to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast ... Read more

Related support groups: Breast Cancer, Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Obesity in Kids

Posted 2 May 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, April 29 – Vitamin D deficiency is common in American children and linked with obesity and different types of fat distribution in white and black youngsters, new research shows. Vitamin D is found in certain foods, but humans synthesize most of the nutrient they need via the action of sunlight on exposed skin. Supplements can also boost levels of vitamin D. In the study, researchers checked vitamin D levels in 237 healthy obese and non-obese white and black children, aged 8 to 18. They found that most of them were vitamin D deficient. Low levels of vitamin D were associated with higher body mass index and fat levels, and lower levels of "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Among those with vitamin D deficiency, white children were more likely to have higher levels of fat between their internal organs (visceral adipose tissue), while black children were more likely ... Read more

Related support groups: Obesity, Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Insufficiency

FDA Medwatch Alert: Soladek Vitamin Solution: Unapproved Product May Contain Dangerously High Levels of Vitamins A and D

Posted 16 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com

ISSUE: Tested samples of Soladek contained levels of vitamin A and vitamin D that were many times the recommended daily allowances for these vitamins. Intake of excessively high levels of these vitamins poses a risk to human health. Symptoms of vitamin A toxicity include anemia, anorexia, alopecia, joint pain, bone weakness, bulging eyes, liver abnormalities, and birth defects. Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include weakness, fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, changes in mental status, increased blood pressure, abnormal heart rate or rhythm, kidney damage, and coma. BACKGROUND: Soladek is marketed with claims that the product treats "hypo and avitaminosis, rickets, growth, dentition, lactation, fractures, infection, convalescence, protection and regeneration of certain epithelium (bronchial, glandular, ocular, cutaneous), corticotherapy, aging and pregnancy." The product is ... Read more

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Vitamin/Mineral Supplementation and Deficiency

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Vitamin D3, cholecalciferol, Delta D3, D2000, D400, D 1000 IU, D3-5, D3-50