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Posted on Jan 17, 2004, 3 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
It seems that the lesson with vitamin D is that you have to get the balance just right. Now it appears that too much as well as too little vitamin D can increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Dr Pentti Tuohimaa of the University of Tampere in Finland and colleagues found that men who had the least vitamin D in their blood were 50% more likely to have prostate cancer than men who had average levels.
It seems that the lesson with vitamin D is that you have to get the balance just right. Now it appears that too much as well as too little vitamin D can increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Dr Pentti Tuohimaa of the University of Tampere in Finland and colleagues found that men who had the least vitamin D in their blood were 50% more likely to have prostate cancer than men who had average levels. However, the study results also showed that men who had the highest vitamin D levels - roughly twice the amount of men with average levels - were 70% more likely to have the disease. Several other studies have linked low vitamin D levels with increased prostate cancer risk, although this is the first to also link high levels with increased risk.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: International Journal of Cancer. 2004;108:104-108.
