Vitamin Found to Reduce Alzheimer"s Disease Risk

Vitamin D in middle age may protect the brain from dementia: new study reveals unexpected connection

As reported by TUT.AZ, a large-scale study, the results of which were published in the journal Neurology Open Access, found that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood are significantly less likely to show signs of Alzheimer's disease years later.

The project involved 793 volunteers, whose average age was around 39. At the start, scientists measured the concentration of vitamin D in each participant's blood, and approximately 16 years later conducted MRI scans of the brain. The goal was to assess the accumulation of two proteins directly linked to dementia: tau protein and beta-amyloid.

The results proved quite revealing. Participants with higher vitamin D levels showed notably less tau protein — one of the key markers of Alzheimer's disease. Notably, no association with beta-amyloid was found. The scientists carefully accounted for additional factors that could influence the outcomes: age, sex, and the presence of depressive symptoms.

The authors of the study emphasize that for now this concerns a statistical association rather than a proven cause-and-effect relationship. Nevertheless, international experts note that vitamin D levels may be considered a potentially modifiable factor capable of influencing the risk of developing dementia.