Vascular dementia (after strokes) 32X more likely in Hypertensives with low vitamin D

Vitamin D status and vascular dementia due to cerebral small vessel disease in the elderly Asian Indian population

Journal of the Neurological Sciences, Online: October 30, 2015, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2015.10.050

Puttachandra Prabhakar, Sadanandavalli Retnaswami Chandra, Manjunath Supriya, Thomas Gregor Issac, Chandrajit Prasad, Rita Christopher [email protected]

Highlights

•Vitamin D deficiency is associated with 2.2-fold increase in odds of vascular dementia due to cerebral small vessel disease.

•In hypertensives with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, the odds were found to be 30.6-fold and 14.4-fold, respectively.

•Screening for vitamin D status could help in reducing the risk of VaD due to cerebral SVD.

Vitamin D plays vital roles in human health and recent studies have shown its beneficial effect on brain functioning. The present study was designed to evaluate the association of vitamin D with vascular dementia (VaD) due to cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) in Asian Indian population. 140 VaD patients aged ≥60 years with neuroimaging evidence of SVD, and 132 age and gender-matched controls, were investigated. Vitamin D status was estimated by measuring serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D.

Logistic regression model revealed that deficient levels of vitamin D (<12 ng/ml) were associated with 2.2-fold increase in odds of VaD after adjustment with covariates.

Hypertension was independently associated with 11.3-fold increased odds of VaD. In hypertensives with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency (12–20 ng/ml), the odds were increased to 31.6-fold and 14.4-fold, respectively.

However, in hypertensives with vitamin D sufficiency (>20 ng/ml), the odds of VaD were increased by 3.8-fold only. Pearson correlation showed that serum vitamin D was inversely associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (r = −0.401 and −0.411, p < 0.01, respectively) in vitamin D-deficient subjects. Since the combined presence of hypertension and vitamin D deficiency increases the probability of developing VaD, screening for vitamin D status in addition to regular monitoring of blood pressure, could reduce the risk of VaD associated with cerebral SVD in the elderly Asian Indian subjects.

See also Vitamin D Life

• Stroke is 13.5 X more likely if low vitamin D and high blood pressure – March 2015

• Dementia surprisingly associated with low vitamin D (should not a surprise) – Aug 2014

• Cognition and vitamin D – summary of expert opinions – July 2014

• Age-related cognitive decline in rats mitigated by Vitamin D intervention – RCT Oct 2012

• Cognitive Impairment 2.4X more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis July 2012

• Overview Alzheimer's-Cognition and Vitamin D

  Pages listed in BOTH of the categories Cognition and Stroke

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