Vitamin D deficiency is generally associated with an increased risk of bone disease . Now, a new study from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) adds that having low levels of vitamin D is linked to higher mortality. The study has been published in the British Medical Journal .
The scientists conducted an analysis of 95,766 white participants of Danish descent with certain genetic variants that affect vitamin D levels. Is it a question of genetics or poor health? This is the question they wanted to answer with this study. Thus, they tested the theory that genetically low levels of vitamin D are associated with higher mortality, using a technique called Mendelian randomization .
The participants were evaluated regarding their consumption of tobacco, alcohol, level of physical activity, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and their genetic variants .
The results showed that genetically low levels of vitamin D were closely linked to higher mortality from any cause , be it cancer or another type of disease.
