RESEARCH AND MARKET EXPRESS

Vitamin D intake may protect against autoimmune disorders

K. L. Munger, MSc, S. M. Zhang,
Two recent studies show inverse correlation between Vitamin D and development of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis.

Findings from a study released this week in the journal Neurology revealed that women who take multivitamins containing vitamin D are 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) than women who do not take vitamin D supplements. Because MS becomes more prevalent as distance from the equator increases and since vitamin D is produced by exposure to sunlight, Harvard University researchers hypothesized that there might be a link between vitamin D and MS. Based on analysis of two studies of 187,000 nurses who were followed over a period of 20 years, the investigators found that the nurses who took a multivitamin with vitamin D had a 40% less chance of developing MS than did those who took no multivitamin or received their vitamin D from food sources such as fortified milk.

In a separate 11-year study of more than 29,000 women aged 55 to 69, women whose diets were highest is vitamin D had the lowest occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis. As with the Harvard study, multivitamins appeared to be a better source of vitamin D than food. The study is reported in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

(Published: NEUROLOGY 2004;62:60-65 )


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