Vitamin D Reduces Frailty

Previously, studies have associated frailty with increased risk of death; as well, other studies have found low blood levels of Vitamin D to result in the same predicament.  Ellen Smit, from Oregon State University (Oregon, USA), and colleagues assessed the combined effects of frailty and low Vitamin D on mortality.  The randomized, nationally representative study involving 4,731 adults, ages 60 and over, divided subjects into four groups. The low group had levels less than 50 nanomole per liter; the highest group had vitamin D of 84 or higher. In general, those who had lower vitamin D levels were more likely to be frail. Further, participants who were frail had more than double the risk of death than those who were not frail. Frail adults with low levels of vitamin D tripled their risk of death over people who were not frail and who had higher levels of vitamin D.  Reporting that: “Our results suggest that low serum [Vitamin D] is associated with frailty, the study authors conclude that: “there is additive joint effects of serum [Vitamin D] and frailty on all-cause mortality in older adults.”  They remark that: “A balanced diet including good sources of vitamin D like milk and fish, and being physically active outdoors, will go a long way in helping older adults to stay independent and healthy for longer.”