A recent study finds that vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements decreased the likelihood of autoimmune disease by 25% to 30%.
People who do not get vitamin D from regular sun exposure or eat a diet rich in vitamin D may find their levels low or deficient. Scientists say that could impact their ability to ward off autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn’s disease.
In fact, researchers say there appears to be a relationship between vitamin D and Covid-19. A recent study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in May of 2021 discovered that vitamin D deficiency is associated with Covid-19 cases as well as severity of the disease. (See NIH study)
Below is an excerpt from MedPage.
During 5 years of follow-up in a cohort of almost 17,000 adults, there were 123 incident cases of autoimmune disease among those who were taking vitamin D supplements daily, while there were 155 among those on placebo, for a hazard ratio of 0.78 (95% CI 0.61-1.00, P=0.045), reported Karen Costenbader, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“Supplementation for 5 years with vitamin D3 and/or omega-3 fatty acids reduced incident autoimmune disease by 25% to 30% in older adults versus those who received neither supplement,” she concluded.
“I don’t have to convince this audience of the burden of autoimmune diseases. These diseases affect 5% to 8% of the population, or 15 to 20 million Americans. They are among the top 10 causes of death among women under 65 in the U.S. and the second most common cause of chronic illness,” she said in a plenary session at the 2021 virtual annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
There currently is no means of preventing autoimmune diseases, which include conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, and psoriasis.
Read full Medpage article here
