Lower Vitamin D Levels Associated With Cognitive Impairment in Women

Two new studies appearing in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences show that vitamin D may be a vital component for the cognitive health of women as they age. According to research conducted by a team led by Cedric Annweiler, MD, PhD, at the Angers University Hospital in France,higher vitamin D dietary intake is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.  These findings were based on data from 498 community-dwelling women who participated in the Toulouse cohort of the Epidemiology of Osteoporosis study. Additional studies  on 6,257 community-dwelling older women led by Yelena Slinin, MD, MS, at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis found that low vitamin D levels in older women are associated with higher risks of global cognitive impairment and global cognitive decline. Cognitive function was tested by the Mini-Mental State Examination and/or Trail Making Test Part B.

Very low levels of vitamin D (less than 10 nanograms per milliliter of blood serum) among older women were associated with higher odds of global cognitive impairment at baseline, and low vitamin D levels (less than 20 nanograms per milliliter) among cognitively-impaired women were associated with a higher risk of incident global cognitive decline, as measured by performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Among this population, women who developed Alzheimer’s disease had lower baseline vitamin D intakes (an average of 50.3 micrograms per week) compared to those who developed no dementia at all (an average of 59.0 micrograms per week).

Earlier this year an article published in the Journals of Gerontology Series  found that both men who don’t get enough vitamin D — either from diet, supplements, or sun exposure — may be at increased risk of developing mobility limitations and disability.