Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is not just a disease of smokers. It is also caused by occupational exposures, air pollution, genetics and an autoimmune phenomenon. It’s the third leading cause of death and costs about $42.6 billion in health care costs and lost productivity.
Researchers from the Haukeland University Hospital in Norway, led by Dr. Louise Jeannette Pauline Persson, wanted to know if any of the more severe symptoms of COPD were related to vitamin D levels.
The authors studied 433 COPD patients and compared them to 325 controls without COPD. Sure enough, COPD patients with lower 25(OH)D levels were more likely to be depressed, have poorer lung function, have lower oxygen levels, more shortness of breath, and use more steroids.
This coincides with past research in the area of vitamin D and COPD, including a randomized controlled trial that found if you were severely deficient in vitamin D (less than 10 ng/ml), vitamin D supplementation helped reduce exacerbations.
If you have COPD, take enough vitamin D, around 5,000 IU/day, to keep your vitamin D levels above 50 ng/ml. It won’t cure the COPD — that damage is permanent — but it might help keep it from getting worse, and you will certainly get fewer lung infections.
Sources:
Persson LJ, Aanerud M, Hiemstra PS, Hardie JA, Bakke PS, Eagan TM. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with low levels of vitamin D. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38934. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Dr. John Cannell is founder of the Vitamin D Council. He has written many peer-reviewed papers on vitamin D and speaks frequently across the United States on the subject. Dr. Cannell holds an M.D. and has served the medical field as a general practitioner, itinerant emergency physician, and psychiatrist.
The Vitamin D Council is a nonprofit organization, spreading awareness and reliable information on vitamin D and vitamin D deficiency.