Vitamin D Modestly Reduces Death Risk from Any Cause

Intake of ordinary doses linked to decline in total mortality rates

MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D supplements modestly reduce the risk of mortality from any cause, according to a report in the Sept. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Philippe Autier, M.D., from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and Sara Gandini, Ph.D., from the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, performed a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials examining the impact of vitamin D supplementation (mean, 528 IU per day) on any health condition. The trials involved 57,311 participants.

The researchers found there were 4,777 deaths from all causes during a mean of 5.7 years. The summary relative risk of mortality from any cause was 0.93 for patients taking supplements, which was independent of additional calcium supplements. In the nine trials where blood samples were collected, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were 1.4- to 5.2-fold higher in the supplemented group.

"In conclusion, the intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements seems to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates," Autier and Gandini write.

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