Less cognitive decline in older blacks getting 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily for years (VITAL, etc. post analysis) – RCT Dec 2021

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Effect of vitamin D on cognitive decline: results from two ancillary studies of the VITAL randomized trial

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 1;11(1):23253. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02485-8.
Jae H Kang 1, Chirag M Vyas 2, Olivia I Okereke 3 2 4, Soshiro Ogata 5, Michelle Albert 6, I-Min Lee 4 7, Denise D'Agostino 7, Julie E Buring 4 7, Nancy R Cook 4 7, Francine Grodstein 3 8, JoAnn E Manson 4 7

Low vitamin D levels have been associated with cognitive decline; however, few randomized trials have been conducted. In a trial, we evaluated vitamin D3 supplementation on cognitive decline. We included participants aged 60+ years (mean[SD] = 70.9[5.8] years) free of cardiovascular disease and cancer in two substudies in the VITAL 2 × 2 randomized trial of vitamin D3 (2000 IU/day of cholecalciferol) and fish oil supplements: 3424 had cognitive assessments by phone (eight neuropsychologic tests; 2.8 years follow-up) and 794 had in-person assessments (nine tests; 2.0 years follow-up). The primary, pre-specified outcome was decline over two assessments in global composite score (average z-scores of all tests); substudy-specific results were meta-analyzed. The pooled mean difference in annual rate of decline (MD) for vitamin D3 versus placebo was 0.01 (95% CI - 0.01, 0.02; p = 0.39). We observed no interaction with baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels (p-interaction = 0.84) and a significant interaction with self-reported race (p-interaction = 0.01).

Among Black participants (19%), those assigned vitamin D3 versus placebo had better cognitive maintenance (MD = 0.04, 95% CI 0.01, 0.08, similar to that observed for Black participants 1.2 years apart in age).
Thus, vitamin D3 (2000 IU/day cholecalciferol) supplementation was not associated with cognitive decline over 2-3 years among community-dwelling older participants but may provide modest cognitive benefits in older Black adults, although these results need confirmation.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov; VITAL (NCT01169259), VITAL-DEP (NCT01696435) and VITAL-Cog (NCT01669915); the date the registration for the parent trial (NCT01169259) was submitted to the registry: 7/26/2010 and the date of first patient enrollment in either of the ancillary studies for cognitive function in a subset of eligible VITAL participants: 9/14/2011.
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

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8+ VitaminDWiki pages concern the VITAL trial

This list is automatically updated

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VitaminDWiki - Cognitive category

Very brief summary of Cognitive decline
Treatment : Vitamin D intervention slows or stops progression
Prevention : Many observational studies - perhaps Vitamin D prevents
Omega-3 both prevents and treats cognition
Wonder the benefits if both Vitamin D AND Omega-3 were to be used
Dementia page - 50 items

392 items in Cognition category

see also Overview Alzheimer's-Cognition and Vitamin D
Overview Parkinson's and Vitamin D

Studies in both categories of Cognition and:
Cardiovascular (8 studies), Genetics (9 studies), Vitamin D Receptor (16 studies), Omega-3 (52 studies), Intervention (20 studies), Meta-analyses (22 studies), Depression (24 studies), Parkinson's (24 studies)
Click here for details

Poor cognition 26 percent more likely if low Vitamin D (29 studies) – meta-analysis July 2017
Every schizophrenia measure was improved when vitamin D levels were normalized – June 2021
Cognitive Impairment and Dementia often associated with low Vitamin D – April 2020
IQ levels around the world are falling (perhaps lower Vitamin D, Iodine, or Omega-3)
Search VitaminDWiki for "WHITE MATTER" 325 items as of March 2023

Types of evidence that Vitamin D helps brain problems - 2014

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Note: Black seniors often have the lowest vitamin D levels, so will get the most benefit from 2,000 IU
Seniors have low D, Blacks have low D, senior blacks have the lowest D

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Mild cognitive decline reversed by a year of just 800 IU Vitamin D daily – RCT Dec 2020
• Cognitive function of adult women improved in 3 months of 50,000 IU weekly Vitamin D – Jan 2019
• 9,000 dollar prize for RCT which found cognition improved after taking 4,000 IU of Vitamin D for 18 weeks – May 2018

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VitaminDWiki - Omega-3 also helps cognition