Low vitamin D level predicts cognitive decline in older population

Public Release: 14-Sep-2015
Low vitamin D level predicts cognitive decline in older population
Rutgers researcher recommends those 60-plus consider daily vitamin D supplement
Rutgers University

Older adults with deficiencies in vitamin D experience more rapid cognitive decline over time than those with adequate vitamin D levels.

In a study published Sept. 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Neurology, Joshua Miller, professor of nutritional sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, found that people with low levels of vitamin D experienced rates of cognitive decline at a much faster pace than people with adequate vitamin D status.

"There were some people in the study who had low vitamin D who didn't decline at all and some people with adequate vitamin D who declined quickly," said Miller. "But on average, people with low vitamin D declined two to three times as fast as those with adequate vitamin D."

Vitamin D - known for its importance for bone health -- is obtained primarily through sun exposure and some foods. Researchers have also found that vitamin D has a major impact on how the body, including the brain, functions.

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