Taking vitamin D supplements prevents dementia, a new study has shown

The journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published the results of a study by doctors from the UK and Canada, which showed that taking vitamin D supplements is associated with a longer life without dementia.

The study participants were more than 12,000 people with an average age of 71 years, according to Business Insider. None of them had been diagnosed with dementia by the beginning of the study. About 4,600 (or 37%) participants reported taking vitamin D supplements: calcium – vitamin D, cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol. 10 years after the start of the study, almost 2,670 participants developed dementia. Only 679 (25%) of them took vitamin D supplements, about 2000 (75%) did not.

Among the participants who reported taking vitamin D, 40% fewer cases of dementia were diagnosed. Most of all, women and people with normal (without signs of memory loss and other disorders) cognitive abilities benefited from the reception. Among those taking vitamin D, there were more people with a high level of education, less tendency to depression, more women and fewer blacks. "Overall, we found evidence that earlier supplementation may be particularly beneficial before cognitive decline begins", - the press release says.

The limitations of the study include its observational nature. The researchers observed a link between supplements and dementia only using data provided by the participants themselves, while the gold standard is considered to be studies in which participants are blindly prescribed drugs or placebo without their knowledge, and then the effect is checked. The results also complicate the fact that those taking supplements were more likely to be white and less likely to suffer from depression.