Certain inflammatory markers found to be triggered by inadequate levels of vitamin D

A study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science showed that vitamin D deficiency leads to an increase in inflammatory markers. This was determined by a team of researchers from various institutions in London, Australia, and Brazil through a clinical study involving more than 5,000 participants.

• Vitamin D deficiency is a rising public health concern that becomes more common as a person ages.
• It is important to have enough vitamin D in the body since it is involved in the absorption and metabolism of calcium, a mineral that is necessary for bone health. Previous studies have also shown that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and sarcopenia.
• Vitamin D is said to play a pivotal role in innate and adaptive immunity, which is why low levels of it are associated with chronic inflammatory diseases like cardiometabolic disease. Unfortunately, there are limited studies looking at this relationship.
• For this study, the researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis to determine the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the major storage and circulating form of vitamin D in the body, and three inflammatory markers, namely C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and white blood cells. They determined the concentration of these markers in the blood samples collected from 5,870 participants aged 50 years and above.

The study showed that low levels of vitamin D are associated with high levels of CRPs, fibrinogen, and white blood cells, which suggest that this nutrient plays a role in the development of inflammatory conditions and has anti-inflammatory potential.

The full text of the study is available at this link.

Read more articles on the importance of vitamin D by visiting Nutrients.news.

Journal Reference:

Oliveira CD, Biddulph JP, Hirani V, Schneider IJC. VITAMIN D AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS: CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSES USING DATA FROM THE ENGLISH LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF AGEING (ELSA). Journal of Nutritional Science. 12 January 2017;6. DOI: 10.1017/jns.2016.37