Seniors taking any amount of vitamin D reduced risk of dementia by 40%
Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE, and baseline cognitive status
Alzheimer’s Dement. 2023; https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12404
Maryam Ghahremani, Eric E. Smith, Hung-Yu Chen, Byron Creese, Zahra Goodarzi, Zahinoor Ismail
Highlights
In a prospective cohort study, we assessed effects of Vitamin D on dementia incidence in 12,388 participants from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center dataset.
Vitamin D exposure was associated with 40% lower dementia incidence versus no exposure .
Vitamin D effects were significantly greater in females versus males and in normal cognition versus mild cognitive impairment.
Vitamin D effects were significantly greater in apolipoprotein E ε4 non-carriers versus carriers.
Vitamin D has potential for dementia prevention, especially in the high-risk strata.
Introduction
Despite the association of vitamin D deficiency with incident dementia, the role of supplementation is unclear. We prospectively explored associations between vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia in 12,388 dementia-free persons from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center.
Methods
Baseline exposure to vitamin D was considered D+; no exposure prior to dementia onset was considered D−. Kaplan–Meier curves compared dementia-free survival between groups. Cox models assessed dementia incidence rates across groups, adjusted for age, sex, education, race, cognitive diagnosis, depression, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4. Sensitivity analyses examined incidence rates for each vitamin D formulation. Potential interactions between exposure and model covariates were explored.
Results
Across all formulations, vitamin D exposure was associated with significantly longer dementia-free survival and lower dementia incidence rate than no exposure (hazard ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.55–0.65). The effect of vitamin D on incidence rate differed significantly across the strata of sex, cognitive status, and APOE ε4 status.
Discussion
Vitamin D may be a potential agent for dementia prevention.
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Video report on the study - Dr. Rhonda Patrick - May 2025
See Dementia is associated with low vitamin D - many studies
VitaminDWiki - studies in both categories Seniors and Cognitive
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