Vitamin D May Help with Respiratory Health

by | Mar 19, 2009 | 2009, Lung Health, Respiratory Health, Vitamin D - General

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Patients with adequate vitamin D levels had a 24% reduced risk of upper respiratory tract infections.

A new study (1) has found that being deficient in vitamin D may increase your risk for getting a cold. In the study, researchers analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) that was conducted between 1988 and 1994. They looked at the relationship between blood levels of vitamin D and upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), of which colds are the most common, in nearly 19,000 patients 12 years and older.

They found that, compared to patients with adequate blood levels of vitamin D (more than 30 nanograms/milliliter), those with vitamin D blood levels between 10 and 30 ng/mL had a 24% increased risk for URTIs. Those with less than 10 ng/mL had a 36% increased URTI risk. The researchers suggested that vitamin D may exert this respiratory benefit by increasing activation of a protein called hCAP-18 and increasing white blood cell activity, thereby strengthening the immune system (2,3).

For the researchers, “[vitamin D blood levels] are inversely associated with recent URTI” and that “randomized controlled trials are warranted to explore the effects of vitamin D supplementation on RTI.”

Source: Ginde, Adit A., Jonathan M. Mansbach, and Carlos A. Camargo. “Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and upper respiratory tract infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” Archives of internal medicine 169.4 (2009): 384-390.

©2009 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Posted March 19, 2009.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

References:

  1. Ginde AA.  Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.  Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390.
  2. Weber G, Heilborn JD, Chamorro Jimenez CI, Hammarsjo A, Törmä H, Stahle M. Vitamin D induces the antimicrobial protein hCAP18 in human skin. J Invest Dermatol. 2005;124(5):1080-1082.
  3. Liu PT, Stenger S, Tang DH, Modlin RL. Cutting edge: vitamin D–mediated human antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is dependent on the induction of cathelicidin. J Immunol. 2007;179(4):2060-2063.