Vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of death from cancer
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased mortality from cancer, including four types of cancer, including stomach, lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. Vitamin D supplementation was found to have a lower risk.Researchers from the University of Heidelberg and the Cancer Research Center in Germany evaluated the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency and mortality rates from cancer and specific cancers. The results of the study are published in the European Journal of Cancer.
The authors found an association between lower vitamin D levels and increased mortality from colorectal cancer (by 14%) and lung cancer (by 19%). At the same time, vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of death from cancer. Thus, the probability of death from stomach cancer increased by 42%, from colorectal cancer by 27%, from lung cancer by 24%, and from prostate cancer by 36%.
Vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of death from cancer, particularly lung cancer by 25%. The likelihood of dying from melanoma was reduced by 36%.
They analyzed data from 411436 people aged 40-69 years. Most of them had either vitamin D deficiency (21.1%) or vitamin D insufficiency (34.4%). In addition, 4.1% of the participants took vitamin D regularly and 20.3% took multivitamin supplements. The follow-up period averaged 13 years.
Previously, scientists found a correlation between reduced vitamin D levels and the development of colorectal cancer.
The findings point to the vital need to monitor the level of vitamin D circulating in the blood and replenish it in case of deficiency and deficiency.