Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Increased Inflammation: Study Reveals

2023-07-09 22:33:54

A study has found that vitamin D deficiency can increase the level of C-reactive protein (CRP), which indicates the intensity of inflammation occurring throughout the body.

Inflammation refers to the secretion of inflammatory substances by the immune response. CRP represents the totality of signals from several proteins (cytokines) involved in inflammation. Therefore, the level of CRP in the blood can give doctors an idea of ​​how much inflammatory activity a patient has.

Biomarkers in the blood of 5,381 community residents (average age 62.9 years, female 53.5%) participating in the ‘Ireland Longitudinal Study on Aging’ (TILDA) by Professor Eamon Laird’s research team at the School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Limerick, Ireland , CRP, and vitamin D levels were analyzed, and the medical news portal News Medical Life Science reported on the 6th that this fact was revealed.

They were overweight with an average body mass index (BMI) of 28.6%, and 33.9% were obese with a BMI of 30 or higher.

Thirteen percent of them were vitamin D deficient, of which 8.5 percent were taking vitamin D supplements.

Overall, blood CRP levels averaged 3.30 mg/dL. 83.9% had CRP levels between 0 and 5 mg/dL, which were within the normal range. 11% had levels as high as 5 to 10 mg/dL, and 5.1% had levels as high as 10 mg/dL or more.

The average level of CRP was 2.02 mg/dL in the group with normal vitamin D, 2.22 mg/dL in the ‘insufficient’ group, and 2.69 mg/dL in the ‘deficient’ group.

Groups with sufficient or insufficient vitamin D levels were less likely to have higher CRP levels. As vitamin D levels increased, CRP levels tended to decrease.

Vitamin D-deficient elderly had higher levels of inflammation according to CRP levels, even when traditional risk factors were considered.

In addition, males, relatively young people, people with higher education levels, non-obese people, non-smokers, and people with three or fewer chronic diseases had significantly lower mean CRP levels.

On the other hand, those aged 75 years or older, those with three or more chronic diseases, those with low education levels, and those who were obese had significantly higher CRP levels.

Previous studies have shown that there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and inflammation. However, until now there has been no data to prove this.

The research paper was published in the latest issue of PLoS One, an online scientific journal.

(15)

1688947215
#Vitamin #deficiency #inflammation #Sciencetimes