![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/vitaminD.jpg\")
Systematic low-grade inflammation is characterized by the prolonged release of inflammatory molecules and is linkedTrusted Source to various health conditions.<\/p>\nSystematic low-grade inflammation is characterized by the prolonged release of inflammatory molecules and is linkedTrusted Source to various health conditions.<\/p>\n
While vitamin D is classically known for regulating calcium levels, recent studiesTrusted Source have shown that it may play a role in modulating the body\u2019s inflammatory response too.<\/p>\n
For example, research has linked vitamin D concentrations in the blood with C-reactive protein levels (CRP), a widely used inflammatory biomarker.<\/p>\n
However, it remains unknown whether low vitamin D levels increase CRP levels, as demonstrated in randomized trialsTrusted Source.
\nRecently, researchers examined the evidence for whether vitamin D levels influence CRP levels in a new study.<\/p>\n
The researchers reported a direct link between low vitamin D levels and higher CRP levels. They say that their findings could provide an important biomarker for identifying people at risk of inflammatory illnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is mounting evidence that improvement in vitamin D status reduces risk for autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,\u201d Dr. Michael F. Holick, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is also consistent with the recent observation from the VITAL trialTrusted Source that reported that those adults who took 2000 IUs vitamin D3 daily for up to 5 years reduced risk of all autoimmune disorders by 22% compared to the placebo group,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.<\/p>\n
Low vitamin D, more inflammation<\/p>\n
For the study, the researchers examined data from 294,970 unrelated people of White-British ancestry from the U.K. Biobank.<\/p>\n
Health data included serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D- or 25(OH)D- levels\u2014a standard measure of vitamin D\u2014and CRP concentrations alongside genetic data.<\/p>\n
The average 25(OH)D concentration was 50 nmol\/L, while 11.7% had concentrations below that deficiency threshold of 25 nmol\/L.
\nParticipants also filled in questionnaires providing information about their health and lifestyles.<\/p>\n
After analyzing the data, the researchers found among participants, only those who were vitamin D deficient had elevated CRP levels.
\nThey also found that increasing vitamin D levels among deficient patients may help mitigate the severity of inflammation.<\/p>\n
The researchers noted that this supports a previously proposed threshold effect, which suggests that correcting vitamin D deficiency may reduce low-grade inflammation and potentially mitigate the risk for inflammatory-related illness.<\/p>\n
The researchers further noted that genetically-predicted CRP concentration did not appear to affect vitamin D levels in both linear and non-linear statistical analyses.<\/p>\n
Reducing autoimmune risk<\/p>\n
When asked how vitamin D levels may influence levels of inflammation, Dr. Elina Hypponen, professor of nutritional and genetic epidemiology at the University of South Australia, one of the study\u2019s authors, told MNT:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn cellular and animal experiments, the hormonal vitamin D inhibits the production of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-12 (IL-12).\u201d
\nIn the paper, the researchers noted that vitamin D might also promote the production of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine.<\/p>\n
Dr. Bruce Hollis, professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, who was not involved in the study, agreed with Prof. Hypponen and noted that \u201cthese are well-known control points of vitamin D at the cellular level.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo say that vitamin D is an important immune regulator is an understatement,\u201d he told MNT.<\/p>\n
The researchers concluded that improving vitamin D status in the deficiency range could reduce systemic low-grade inflammation and potentially mitigate the risk of inflammatory-related conditions.<\/p>\n
When asked about the study\u2019s limitations, Prof. Hypponen noted that their study only investigated the effects of vitamin D on CRP, and cannot be used to confirm the mechanisms underlying the link.<\/p>\n
When asked about the study\u2019s limitations, Dr. Nik Tsotakos, assistant professor of biology at The Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the study, told MNT:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe study is very well performed, and it is important to note that the data came from a cohort of hundreds of thousands of individuals. The limitation that I can pinpoint to the study is that inflammation was determined exclusively by the levels of CRP which, while a sensitive marker, is not a specific one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that more at the molecular, cellular, and tissue level is needed to understand how vitamin D levels are linked to autoimmune disorders.<\/p>\n
The vitamin D controversy<\/p>\n
Dr. David Cutler, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in the study, underscored that the effects of vitamin D are an \u201carea of ongoing controversy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, even the presumed bone enhancing properties of vitamin D were called into question by a recent large study of over 25,000 people followed for over 5 years showing no reduction in fracture risk by taking vitamin D. So, what are we to conclude from a recent study showing an association between lower levels of vitamin D and higher levels of the inflammation indicator c-reactive protein? Probably not much,\u201d he told MNT.<\/p>\n
This, Dr. Cutler said, is because association is not the same as causation.<\/p>\n
For example, he noted that low vitamin D levels among COVID patients may not mean that low vitamin D levels alone increase COVID-19 risk. He said this is because people who are generally ill, stay indoors, and get sick from COVID-19 are less likely to be exposed to sunlight, which could increase their vitamin D.<\/p>\n
He further noted that there is some uncertainty around defining what constitutes low vitamin D as \u201cthere has been no direct attribution of ill effects of vitamin D between 20 \u2013 30.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, profound vitamin D deficiency can lead to abnormal bone formation (rickets) in children and osteoporosis in adults.<\/p>\n
Source: HealthWatch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Systematic low-grade inflammation is characterized by the prolonged release of inflammatory molecules and is linkedTrusted Source to various health conditions. While vitamin D is classically known for regulating calcium levels, recent studiesTrusted Source have shown that it may play a role in modulating the body\u2019s inflammatory response too. For example, research has linked vitamin D concentrations in the blood with C-reactive protein levels (CRP), a widely used inflammatory biomarker. However, it remains unknown whether low vitamin D levels increase CRP levels, as demonstrated in randomized trialsTrusted Source. Recently, researchers examined…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":623607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-623606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}