A new study conducted by researchers from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam suggests older people who have Vitamin D deficiencies can have problems carrying out routine tasks.
Vitamin D is essential for the proper functioning of the body. Researchers from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam suggest that older people who have Vitamin D deficiencies can have problems carrying out routine tasks. These functional problems include getting around the house independently and going to the bathroom themselves. They need constant bed rest.
"Seniors who have low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have mobility limitations and to see their physical functioning decline over time," lead author Evelien Sohl, a researcher with VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands, said in a press release. "Older individuals with these limitations are more likely to be admitted to nursing homes and face a higher risk of mortality."
For the new study, researchers examined two groups of people for six years. The first group consisted of 762 people between the ages of 65 and 88 and the second group had 597 people between the ages of 55 and 65. Both groups were further broken down into sub groups based on blood tests determining whether they had high, moderate or low vitamin D levels. The mobility level of all participants were then checked by asking them to perform routine tasks like sitting down and standing up from a chair or walking outside for 5 minutes without resting.
Researchers found that in the group containing older people, individuals with lower vitamin D levels were 1.7 times more likely to have at least one functional problem when compared to individuals with the highest vitamin D levels. In the younger group, individuals with lower vitamin D levels were twice more likely to have at least one physical limitation. People with the deficiency are also more likely to develop more physical limitations over time.
According to a report published earlier in May this year, one in every two Americans has vitamin D deficiency.
