Vitamin D Shows Benefits to Liver Health

by | Apr 20, 2016 | 2014, Liver Health, Vitamin D - General

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In 2649 Danish subjects, a 12% decrease in liver disease was for increased vitamin D blood levels.  

According to a 2012 report (1), 150,000 Americans could die from liver cancer or end-stage liver disease associated with hepatitis B or C viruses in the next decade. Medical costs for hepatitis C infections are forecasted to be $80 billion per year by 2030. First-year liver cancer treatment can exceed $62,000 and the first-year cost of a liver transplant can exceed $267,000. Fortunately, new medications are producing cure rates as high as 97% for hepatitis C (2, 3).

Now a new study (4) suggests that monitoring vitamin D blood levels may provide a benefit. In the study, researchers analyzed data on 2,649 Danish subjects participating in the Monica study (Multinational MonItoring of trends and determinants in cardiovascular disease) which was started between 1983 and 1984 (5). The subjects were followed for an average of 16.5 years during which 62 cases of liver disease were observed.

The researchers noted a 12% decrease in the risk of fatal or non-fatal liver diseases for every 10 nanomole/Liter-increase in vitamin D blood levels (p < 0.05). And although lower blood levels of vitamin D were associated with higher levels of liver damage in the form of having higher levels of the enzymes ALT (p = 0.90), AST (p = 0.056), or GGT (p = 0.19), these results did not reach statistical significance.

When suggesting how vitamin D may elicit these benefits to liver health, the researchers cited studies suggesting vitamin D deficiency to result in liver damage through increased inflammation levels (6, 7) while also affecting insulin resistance and helping precipitate metabolic syndrome (8, 9). For the researchers, “In this general population study, vitamin D status was inversely associated with incident liver disease” but that “Further studies are needed to determine whether patients in risk of developing impaired liver function should be screened for vitamin D deficiency for preventive purposes.”

Source: Skaaby, Tea, et al. “Vitamin D status, liver enzymes, and incident liver disease and mortality: a general population study.” Endocrine 47.1 (2014): 213-220.

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Posted December 22, 2014.

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

References:

  1. “The Economic Cost of Advanced Liver Disease” posted on National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project, 1/2/2012
  2. Lawitz E. Sofosbuvir and ledipasvir fixed-dose combination with and without ribavirin in treatment-naive and previously treated patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus infection (LONESTAR): an open-label, randomised, phase 2 Lancet 2014 Feb 8;383(9916):515-23
  3. Serranti D. New treatments for chronic hepatitis C: an overview for paediatricians. World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2014; 20(43): 15965–15974
  4. Skaaby T. Vitamin D status, liver enzymes, and incident liver disease and mortality: a general population study. Endocrine 2014 Sep;47(1):213-20. doi: 10.1007/s12020-013-0107-8. Epub 2013 Nov 23
  5. “The WHO MONICA Project” posted on the National Institute for Health and Welfare website
  6. D. Bikle, Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency in gastrointestinal disorders. J. Bone Miner. Res. 2007; 22(Suppl 2), V50–V54
  7. Petta, C. Camma, C. Scazzone, C. Tripodo, M.V. Di, A. Bono et al., Low vitamin D serum level is related to severe fibrosis and low responsiveness to interferon-based therapy in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Hepatology 2010; 51(4), 1158–1167
  8. Skaaby, L.L. Husemoen, C. Pisinger, T. Jorgensen, B.H. Thuesen, M. Fenger et al., Vitamin D status and changes in cardiovascular risk factors: a prospective study of a general population. Cardiology 2012; 123(1), 62–70
  9. L. Husemoen, T. Skaaby, B.H. Thuesen, T. Jorgensen, R.V. Fenger, A. Linneberg, Serum 25(OH)D and incident type 2 diabetes: a cohort study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2012; 66(12), 1309–1314 Antioxid Redox Signal 2011;14:1337–83.