Research finds vitamin D is important for respiratory health

[gerald]

It is interesting that they have found a definitive link between Vitamin D and lung health. However, they have still not been able to confirm where Low Vitamin D has caused the lung problems or is caused by the lung problems

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Research finds vitamin D is important for respiratory health
January 25, 2018 by Jess Reid, University of Western Australia


A new study carried out by The University of Western Australia, the Busselton Health Study and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital has found vitamin D deficiency can contribute to poor respiratory functioning and health in middle-aged adults.

While it is well known that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis, the study suggests vitamin D may also play an important role in respiratory health through its effects on lung development and structure, respiratory muscle strength, inflammation and immune response to respiratory pathogens.

The researchers measured serum vitamin D levels, lung function and respiratory symptoms in more than 5000 baby boomers at the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study and found that low levels of vitamin D were associated with respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms common to these conditions including wheezing and chest tightness.

Importantly the investigators also found that low lung function (Forced Vital Capacity or FVC) was significantly related to low vitamin D levels. Conversely high levels of vitamin D were associated with better lung function suggesting it plays an important role in maintaining good respiratory health. The effect of vitamin D on respiratory health remained the same even when factoring in other aspects that contribute to vitamin D levels such as seasonal fluctuation, obesity and other chronic diseases.

The study found that the prevalence of serum vitamin D deficiency in the population was higher in women under the age of 55 and around 11 per cent of women and men were currently taking vitamin D supplements.

Lead investigator Dr. Siobhain Mulrennan said that with around 10 per cent of men and women currently identified as having low levels of vitamin D their findings paved the way for further studies to examine the effect of vitamin D on lung tissue.

"There is emerging evidence that increasing vitamin D levels either through lifestyle or supplementation can reduce asthma symptoms and severity among individuals with inadequate levels," Dr. Mulrennan said.

Professor Alan James said the study used extensive data collected on the enthusiastic participants of the Busselton Health Study to add further evidence for the observed link between vitamin D and lung function and respiratory health.

"Data and DNA samples collected in the ongoing Busselton Healthy Ageing Study will allow further studies investigating the genetic factors that influence vitamin D levels and the relationship to lung function and common respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchitis," he said.

Dr. Michael Hunter said opinion was still divided as to whether vitamin D deficiency contributes to lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and COPD or is in fact a result of existing disease or its treatment.

"A follow-up study of these same study participants is currently underway which will allow us to investigate longitudinally the effects of vitamin D levels and relationship to the development of respiratory illness and associated symptoms, as well as other health outcomes associated with ageing," Dr. Hunter said.

Explore further: Vitamin D protects against colds and flu, finds major global study

More information: Siobhain Mulrennan et al. Vitamin D and respiratory health in the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study, Respirology (2018). DOI: 10.1111/resp.13239

medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-vitamin-d-important-respiratory-health.html

Vitamin D protects against colds and flu, finds major global study

medicalxpress.com/news/2017-02-vitamin-d-colds-flu-major.html

[jim]

Thank you Gerald, that interesting and worthy of more thought and research.

[groze5858]

Don't you need to take something other Vitamin with Vitamin D?  Isn't Vitamin D not good by itself or am I thinking of a different Vitamin?

[jarca]

I was told to take Vit D3---something about the way it is absorbed into our system.

i found this about why D3 vs D2 VS D

www.drugs.com/answers/is-vitamin-d-the-same-as-vitamin-d3-241789.html

[gerald]

I found additional links to this topic,  I believe one of them is a writeup about the same Australian study, the other is a different study

Vitamin D Levels Associated with Respiratory Function, May Be Linked to COPD, Study Reports
copdnewstoday.com/2018/02/06/vitamin-d-levels-associated-with-respiratory-function-may-be-linked-copd/

Vitamin D and respiratory health in the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/resp.13239/full

The one family doctor I had recommended that I take 5000 units of D3 per day.  He believed the cortisteriods in the inhalers depleted the bodies Vitamin D.

[gerald]

A newer study related to Vitamin D, they also talk about a more comprehensive study is underway.
First stated link with COPD

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Vitamin D Levels Associated with Respiratory Function, May Be Linked to COPD, Study Reports

Vitamin D levels are associated with respiratory function and health, research from Australia shows. The findings suggest an additional process could be driving diseases such as chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD).

The study, “Vitamin D and respiratory health in the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study,” was published in the journal Respirology.

Vitamin D is well-known for its importance in regulating the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, thereby maintaining healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.

Abnormal levels of the vitamin have been associated with respiratory illness and reduced lung function. Immune modulation and effects on lung structure are among the proposed mechanisms underlying these effects. However, more information is needed to better understand this relationship, especially regarding the role of diverse confounding factors.

Research shows that a vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among COPD patients, but no evidence of a link with lung function decline or mortality has been found.

Therefore, researchers determined the serum vitamin D levels in 5,106 people of baby-boomer age at the Australian Busselton Healthy Ageing Study to study their association with respiratory symptoms, disease, and lung function. A subset of 4,212 also had spirometry (lung function) data, while 2,669 underwent an overnight sleep study.

Respiratory symptoms were assessed by questionnaire and included wheeze (a whistling sound in the respiratory airways when breathing), shortness of breath, chest tightness, cough, and sputum.

Results showed that low levels of vitamin D correlated with respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, and symptoms including wheezing and chest tightness.

In addition, poor lung function – as measured by forced vital capacity, or the total amount of air exhaled after a deep breath – was also associated with low levels of the vitamin.

Further indicating its key role in maintaining respiratory health, high levels of vitamin D were linked to better lung function, even after accounting for factors known to influence its levels, such as obesity, seasonal fluctuation, and other chronic diseases.

“The findings in this study coupled with recent studies investigating asthma outcomes and use of vitamin D supplements strengthen the proposed mechanistic relationship between vitamin D deficiency and respiratory disease,” the researchers wrote.

“There is emerging evidence that increasing levels [of the vitamin] either through lifestyle or supplementation can reduce asthma symptoms and severity among individuals with inadequate levels,” Siobhain Mulrennan, MD, the study’s first author, said in a press release.

Women under the age of 55 showed the highest prevalence of blood vitamin D deficiency (less than 50 nmol/L). The overall prevalence was 8.0 percent. Approximately 11% of respondents were taking vitamin supplements.

Debate is still ongoing as to whether a deficiency of the vitamin contributes to COPD, asthma, or bronchitis, or if the low vitamin levels result from disease or its treatment.

“A follow-up study of these same study participants is currently underway which will allow us to investigate longitudinally the effects of vitamin D levels and its relationship to the development of respiratory illness and associated symptoms, as well as other health outcomes associated with ageing,” said Michael Hunter, MD, one of the study’s co-authors.

Furthermore, the data and DNA samples collected from the study’s cohort will be used to assess “the genetic factors that influence vitamin D levels and the relationship to lung function and common respiratory conditions such as asthma, [COPD] and bronchitis,” said Alan James, MD, the study’s senior author.

healthybuilds.com/vitamin-d-levels-associated-with-respiratory-function-may-be-linked-to-copd-study-reports/

[gerald]

More ongoing support for Vitamin D

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GPs should routinely test COPD patients for vitamin D status, says study

GPs should routinely test vitamin D status in COPD patients as supplementation could reduce the rate of exacerbations, new research has found.

Primary care researchers concluded that vitamin D supplementation may ‘safely and substantially’ reduce the risk of exacerbations in COPD patients with low baseline levels of vitamin D, and that COPD patients should therefore routinely have their vitamin D levels investigated.

The study was carried out by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and pooled the results of four clinical trials investigating the effects of vitamin D in just under 500 COPD patients.

They found that compared to placebo, vitamin D supplementation reduced the rate of COPD exacerbations by 45% in patients with baseline vitamin D levels of less than 25nmol/L. It had no significant effect, however, on those with levels of greater than 25nmol/L.

Supplementation was also found to be safe, as it had no significant effects on the proportion of patients experiencing adverse outcomes or dying from any cause.

The researchers said that since COPD patients often have ‘profound’ vitamin D deficiency, they should be offered routine testing.

The paper said: ‘Our findings support a strategy of routinely testing vitamin D status in patients with COPD who experience exacerbations and offering supplementation to those with circulating 25(OH)D concentrations of less than 25 nmol/L.’

Research published in November showed that GPs were ordering three times as many diagnostic tests in 2015 as they were in 2000, with vitamin D tests among the three tests showing the greatest increases in GP ordering.

Guidelines released by the National Osteoporosis Society in December aimed to clarify if and when GPs should order vitamin D blood tests, saying that only patients at ‘high risk’ of vitamin D deficiency should be tested.

www.pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/clinical-specialties/respiratory-/gps-should-routinely-test-copd-patients-for-vitamin-d-status-says-study/20038077.article