Caution women, if you have a lower level of Vitamin D in the blood, then you may be at a higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis. This disease affects the spinal cord and brain of the patient, according to the study. The findings of the study revealed that with each 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) increase in vitamin D levels in the blood, the risk of developing MS later in life in increased by 39%.
Also, women who have deficient levels of Vitamin D had 43% higher risk of developing MS than those who have adequate levels of vitamin D.
"Our study suggests that correcting vitamin D deficiency in young and middle-age women may reduce their future risk of MS," said Kassandra Munger from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
In Multiple Sclerosis, body’s immune system starts attacking the coating which protects the nerve cells. According to a previous research, the connection between vitamin D and MS could be attributed to the positive impacts of vitamin D on the immune system.
While "more research is needed on the optimal dose of vitamin D for reducing risk of MS, striving to achieve vitamin D sufficiency over the course of a person's life will likely have multiple health benefits," Munger said.
The study was published in the journal Neurology. The researchers used a repository of blood samples taken from more than 800,000 women in Finland, taken as part of prenatal testing. Among these, 1,092 women were diagnosed with MS and were compared to 2,123 women who did’nt develop the disorder.
Among those who developed MS, 58% had deficient levels of vitamin D contrary to 52% of women who didn’t develop MS.
(With IANS Inputs)
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