MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Vitamin D supplements may greatly lower a woman's risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), contends a study in the Jan. 13 issue of Neurology.
The study found women who take vitamin D supplements through multivitamins are 40 percent less likely to develop MS than women who don't take supplements.
"These results need to be confirmed with additional research, but it's exciting to think that something as simple as taking a multivitamin could reduce your risk of developing MS," study author Kassandra Munger, of the Harvard School of Public Health, says in a prepared statement.
She and her colleagues examined data from two large studies that examined women's diets and their use of multivitamin supplements. Women with the highest intake of vitamin D from supplements (400 International Units or more per day) were 40 percent less likely to develop MS than those who took no supplements.
Women who had a high intake of vitamin D from food and supplements also had a lower risk of developing MS. But women who relied solely on food for their intake of vitamin D did not have a lower risk of developing the disease.
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