Daily 5 to 10 min early morning sun bath strong your immunity
Role of vitamin D in various diseases
• Active form of vitamin D is 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D.
• Most tissues and cells in humans
express VDR.
• Vitamin D influences genes regulating
many key cellular functions including
cellular proliferation, differentiation,
apoptosis and angiogenesis.
• Serum 25(OH)D3 levels most accurately reflect vitamin D status. The cut-offs representing insufficient and deficient 25(OH)D3 are variable, but most physicians take vitamin D deficiency as 25(OH)D3 levels less than 20 ng/mL and vitamin D insufficiency as 25(OH)D3 levels between 21 and 29 ng/mL. Deficiency of vitamin D may lead to several diseases. However, for many of them, robust evidence is not available.
Osteoporosis
Hypertension
Coronary artery disease
Cancer
Diabetes
Asthma
Osteoporosis
• Strong link between vitamin D
deficiency and osteoporosis especially
in the elderly.
• Vitamin D deficiency is associated with marked suppression of intestinal
calcium absorption and impairment of
calcium balance which results in low
bone mineral content and density.
Muscle weakness
• Muscle weakness is a prominent
feature of vitamin D deficiency. This
can lead to an increased number of
falls.
Hypertension
• Growing evidence suggests that
vitamin D has an important
association with blood pressure.
• 1, 25(OH), D3 may inhibit renin
expression in the kidneys and block
proliferation of vascular smooth
muscle cells, which could influence
blood pressure.
Coronary artery disease
• Many studies support association
between low vitamin D levels and
increased cardiovascular adverse
events.
• Vitamin D deficiency is associated with impaired endothelial function and vascular stiffness which are known
predictors of long-term cardiovascular
morbidity and mortality.
• Inflammation has been shown to have
a strong role in the pathogenesis of
CAD. Vitamin D suppresses
inflammation via several pathways:
• Inhibition of prostaglandin
and cyclooxygenase-2
pathways.
• Reduction of matrix
metalloproteinase-9.
• Up-regulation of anti-
inflammatory cytokine
interleukin-10.
Cancer
• Vitamin D is one of the most potent
hormones for regulating cell growth.
• It can induce differentiation into
normally functioning cells and inhibit
proliferation, invasiveness,
angiogenesis and metastatic potential.
• The protective relationship between
sufficient vitamin D status and lower
risk of cancer has been found in many
studies particularly with regard to
colorectal cancer.
Diabetes
• Vitamin D deficiency inhibits
pancreatic secretion and turnover of
insulin. This may result in impaired
glucose tolerance and frank diabetes.
• Vitamin D increases insulin sensitivity.
Tuberculosis
• Studies have shown that patients with
TB have lower 25(OH)D3 levels in
comparison with those without TB.
Asthma
• Lower serum levels of 25(OH)D3 may
be associated with increased asthma
severity and poor asthma control.
Other associations with reduced
vitamin D
• Increased severity of infectious
diseases.
• Reduced immunity.
• Increased frequency of mood
disorders.
• Increased frequency of inflammatory
bowel disease.
• Increased autoimmunity.
