Vitamin D has already shown its evidence for reduction of asthma attacks, it also seems effective in reducing the risk ofrespiratory infectionsin the elderly, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Over one year, high-dose vitamin D supplementation is indeed correlated with a reduction, up to 40%, in lung infections.
Vitamin D: fewer respiratory infections, more falls
Researchers at the University of Colorado in the United States conducted a randomized controlled trial with 107 participants aged 60 and over.
For 12 months, participants received either a high monthly dose of vitamin D (3 to 4,000 IU or 75mcg-100mcg / day) or a standard dose (400 to 1,000 IU u 10mcg-25mcg per day) or a placebo.
The researchers found that participants in the “high dose” group experienced 0.67 acute respiratory events (ARIs) per person per year compared to an average of 1.11 in participants in the “standard dose” group. From numbers equivalent to a 40% decrease in IRA.
But, this beneficial effect was also associated with an increase in the number of falls without fractures.
“After studying these patients for a year, we found a 40% reduction in respiratory diseases acute among those who took higher doses of vitamin D, ”said study lead author Adit Ginde, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. vitamin D can improve the immune system’s ability to fight infections because it strengthens the immune system’s first line of defense.
While the results of this study are encouraging, they must be validated in a larger clinical trial.
“If our results are confirmed by a larger trial, a high dose of vitamin D, ideally using the daily dosage to minimize the risk of falls, has a real substantial benefit in preventing ARIs for the elderly population,” concluded Adit Ginde.
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