Vitamin D May Help Protect Against Parkinson’s

by | Aug 13, 2010 | 2010, Brain Health, Parkinson's, Vitamin D - General

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found that the group with the highest vitamin D blood levels had a 67% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to the group with the lowest blood levels.

Parkinson Disease (PD), characterized by tremors, slowness of movement, stiffness, and difficulty with balance, affects more than 1.5 million Americans, with 60,000 new cases each year (1).  The combined direct and indirect costs of PD are estimated at more than $5.6 billion per year in the U.S. With medication costs for an individual patient averaging $2,500 a year, and therapeutic surgery costing up to $100,000 dollars per patient (2) prevention of PD is at a premium.  Now a new study (5) has found that maintaining proper blood levels of vitamin D may help lower the risk of Parkinson’s.

Building upon a 2008 study showing more than half of Parkinson Disease patients to have a vitamin D deficiency (6), 3,173 patients participating in the Mini-Finland Health Survey (7) who were free of Parkinson Disease provided blood samples throughout the course of the study between 1978 and 2007.  The researchers looked at the onset of Parkinson Disease in the patients and measured vitamin D levels from frozen blood samples.

The researchers found that those in the highest 25% of vitamin D blood levels (> 50 nanmoles/Liter) had a 67% reduced risk of Parkinson Disease compared to those in the lowest 25% of vitamin D blood levels (< 25 nmol/L).  While the researchers give no recommendations on the vitamin D intake needed to achieve 50 nmol/L, past research has shown that has shown 600 – 1000 IU per day of vitamin D can produce blood levels of 75-112 nmol/L (8, 9, 10).

For the researchers, “The results are consistent with the suggestion that high vitamin D status provides protection against Parkinson disease” though admit that “further studies are thus needed” to establish a definitive cause and effect relationship between vitamin D and Parkinson’s Disease.

Source: Knekt, Paul, et al. “Serum vitamin D and the risk of Parkinson disease.” Archives of Neurology 67.7 (2010): 808-811.

© 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Posted August 13, 2010. 

References:

  1. “About Parkinson Disease” posted on the National Parkinson Foundation Website http://www.parkinson.org
  2. “Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Parkinson’s Disease” posted on the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation Website http://www.pdf.org
  3. Miller ER 3rd.  Meta-analysis: High-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality. Ann Intern Med. 2005; 142: 37-46.
  4. Guo. S.  Protective Effects of Green Tea Polyphenols in the 6-OHDA Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease Through Inhibition of ROS-NO Pathway.  Biol Psych 2007; 62(12):1353-1362.
  5. Knekt P.  Serum Vitamin D and the Risk of Parkinson Disease. Archives of Neurology 2010; 67(7):808-811.
  6. Evatt ML.  Prevalence of Vitamin D Insufficiency in Patients With Parkinson Disease and Alzheimer Disease.  Arch Neurol. 2008;65(10):1348-1352.
  7. Aromaa A.  The Execution of the Mini-Finland Health Survey. Part 1: Aims, Methods, and Study Population [in Finnish with English summary]. Helsinki, Finland: Publications of the Social Insurance Institution; 1989. Publication ML:88.
  8. Vieth R. Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate intake versus 100 mcg (4000 IU) per day on biochemical responses and the wellbeing of patients. Nutr J. 2004;3:8.
  9. Chapuy MC. Vitamin D3 and calcium to prevent hip fractures in the elderly women. N Engl J Med. 1992;327:1637-42.
  10. Dawson-Hughes B. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and functional outcomes in the elderly. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;88:S537-40