More Sunlight May Provide Senior Citizens with Lower
Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes
Prevalence of dangerous metabolic syndrome found
among those with low vitamin D levels
May 11, 2009 Older people can reduce their risk
of developing heart disease and diabetes by spending more time in the
sunshine, say British researchers. Sunlight stimulated vitamin D in the
skin and, they say, older people are likely to have a vitamin D
deficiency, due to the natural aging process and lifestyle changes.
Researchers also urging close monitoring of elderly
with hypertension during weather extremes; second study says thinking
ability varies with blood pressure
Researchers at the University of Warwick have shown
vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with metabolic
syndrome, a combination of medical and metabolic disorders that increase
the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The research team, led by Dr Oscar Franco at
Warwick Medical School, investigated the association between vitamin D
levels in the blood and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in 3,262
people aged 50 through 70 years old in China.
His team found a high correlation between low
vitamin D levels and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. They found
94% of people in the study had a vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D)
deficiency or insufficiency. The results showed 42.3% of these people
also had metabolic syndrome.
The results of the study, published in Diabetes
Care journal, are consistent with the findings of other studies in
Western populations and Dr Franco suggests vitamin D deficiency could
become a global health problem.
He said: "Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a
condition that is causing a large burden of disease across the globe
with particular deleterious impact among the elderly. Our results are
consistent with those found in British and American populations. We
found that low vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk
of having metabolic syndrome, and was also significantly associated with
increased insulin resistance."
Dr Franco said there were many factors which could
explain why older people had less vitamin D in their blood, including
changes in lifestyle factors such as clothing and outdoor activity.
As we get older our skin is less efficient at
forming vitamin D and our diet may also become less varied, with a lower
natural vitamin D content, he added.
Most importantly, however, the dermal production
of vitamin D following a standard exposure to UVB light decreases with
age because of atrophic skin changes. When we are older we may need to
spend more time outdoors to stimulate the same levels of vitamin D we
had when we were younger.
Vitamin D deficiency exists when the concentration
of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D) in the blood serum occurs at 12ng/ml (nanograms/millilitre)
or less. The normal concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D in the blood
serum is 25-50ng/ml.
This study was carried out in collaboration with
colleagues from the Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences in China.
The team recruited 3,262 community residents aged 50-70 from Beijing and
Shanghai in China as part of the Nutrition and Health of Aging
Population in China (NHAPC) project.
Dr Franco added: "Vitamin D deficiency is now
recognized as a worldwide concern and metabolic syndrome has become a
global epidemic. More research is needed to find out why older people
are more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D and how this is linked
to the development of metabolic syndrome and related metabolic
diseases."
The study is published online ahead of publication
in Diabetes Care
Warwick is one of the UKs leading universities,
and claims an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and
teaching for innovation and for links with business and industry.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
May 11, 2009 Older people can reduce their risk
of developing heart disease and diabetes by spending more time in the
sunshine, say British researchers. Sunlight stimulated vitamin D in the
skin and, they say, older people are likely to have a vitamin D
deficiency, due to the natural aging process and lifestyle changes.