Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Deficiency of Vitamin D Linked to Increased Mortality

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Oct 2019
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures. Vitamin D deficiency is a widely prevalent and easily correctable risk factor for early death, and evidence for its link to mortality comes from numerous studies and clinical trials.

The majority of these studies to date have however come from looking at older populations, and the some investigators believe that many of the largest scale studies may have been affected by increased rates of vitamin D supplementation in old age. In older adults, because the skin doesn't make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight as efficiently as when they were young, and their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form.

Scientists at the Medical University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria) studied data from the records of all 78,581 patients (mean age 51.0 years, 31.5% male) who had a vitamin D (25-hydroxy-vitamin D) measurement taken, which was then matched with the Austrian national register of deaths. The first three years of mortality following the vitamin D measurement were excluded from the analysis, and patients were followed for up to 20 years where possible, with a median follow-up of 10.5 years. The team used a blood level of vitamin D 50 nmol/L, a commonly used cut-off value for vitamin D deficiency, as their reference value to which other levels would be compared, and set their low and high levels for which risk would be calculated at 10 nmol/L and 90 nmol/L respectively.

The scientists found that vitamin D levels of 10 nmol/L or less were associated with a 2-3 fold increase in risk of death, with the largest effect being observed in patients aged 45 to 60 years (2.9 times increased risk). Levels of 90 nmol/L or greater were associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality of 30%-40%, again with the largest effect being found in the 45 to 60-years-old age group (a 40% reduction in risk). No statistically significant associations between vitamin D levels and mortality were observed in patients over the age of 75.

Further subdivision of these non-cardiovascular, non-cancer causes of death revealed the largest effect of vitamin for diabetes with a 4.4 times higher risk of death from the disease in the vitamin D deficient group (less than or equal to 50 nmol/L) than for study participants whose serum vitamin D was above 50 nmol/L. Plotting the risk of death according to vitamin D level in the various subgroups did not support a risk resurgence at higher vitamin D levels above 100 nmol/L.

The authors concluded that their survival data from a large cohort, covering all age groups, from a population with minimal vitamin D supplementation at old age, confirm a strong association of vitamin D deficiency of less than 50 nmol/L with increased mortality. This association is most pronounced in the younger and middle-aged groups and for causes of deaths other than cancer and cardiovascular disease, especially diabetes. The study was presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) held September 16-20, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain.

Related Links:
Medical University of Vienna


Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Vaginitis Test
Allplex Vaginitis Screening Assay
New
Bordetella Pertussis Molecular Assay
Alethia Pertussis
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get complete access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Researcher Kanta Horie places a sample in a mass spectrometer that measures protein levels in blood plasma and other fluids (Photo courtesy of WashU Medicine)

Highly Accurate Blood Test Diagnoses Alzheimer’s and Measures Dementia Progression

Several blood tests are currently available to assist doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms. However, these tests do not provide insights into the clinical... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study (Photo courtesy of UNIST)

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.