Vitamin D2026-10

Vitamin D Deficiency, Supplementation, and Aging-Related Morbidity and Mortality Across Two Longitudinal Population Cohorts.

Israel Ariel, Weizman Abraham, Israel Sarah, Ashkenazi Shai et al. — Aging cell

Summary

This study investigated the link between severe vitamin D deficiency and health issues related to aging, including mortality. Analyzing data from hundreds of thousands of adults, researchers found that very low vitamin D levels were associated with increased risks of aging-related diseases and a shorter lifespan. Importantly, taking vitamin D supplements appeared to reduce these risks.

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Key points

Severe vitamin D deficiency is linked to increased risks of aging-related health problems and higher mortality.
This association was consistently observed in two large groups of people from different countries.
Taking vitamin D supplements was associated with a lower risk of these aging-related issues and mortality.
These findings suggest that maintaining adequate vitamin D levels could be an important factor in healthy aging.

What the study looked at

This study aimed to understand if very low vitamin D levels are connected to how people age and their risk of death, and whether taking vitamin D supplements could make a difference. Researchers analyzed health records from over 468,000 adults in Israel and confirmed their findings in another 223,000 adults in the US. They compared individuals with severe vitamin D deficiency (very low levels) to those with sufficient levels, tracking their health for up to ten years. The study also looked at the impact of vitamin D supplementation over time. The findings showed that severe vitamin D deficiency was consistently linked to a higher risk of various aging-related health problems and increased mortality in both populations. Conversely, taking vitamin D supplements was associated with a reduction in these risks, suggesting a potential benefit for healthy aging.

Dietary takeaway

While this study suggests a potential benefit, it's important to remember that one study isn't definitive proof, and more research is needed. However, ensuring adequate vitamin D intake through foods like fatty fish, fortified milk, or sun exposure might be a reasonable consideration for overall health, especially as we age. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in biological processes linked to aging and organismal resilience, yet its relationship to long-term systemic aging trajectories remains incompletely characterized. We analyzed longitudinal electronic health record data from two large healthcare systems: Leumit Health Services (LHS), a nationwide Israeli health organization, and TriNetX, a federated US research network. We examined more than 1.67 million serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] measurements from over 468,500 adults in LHS (2009-2020). Longitudinal matched analyses compared severe deficiency (< 10 ng/mL) with sufficiency (> 30 ng/mL) in LHS and were externally validated in 223,175 propensity score-matched TriNetX pairs; matched cohorts were approximately 54 years old, 65%-67% female, and followed for up to 10 years. In both populations, severe deficiency was associated with increased risks across multiple aging-related outcomes. All-cause mortality was higher in LHS (adjusted HR 2.57, 95% CI 2.38-2.79) and TriNetX (HR 1.59, 1.55-1.63). To assess modifiability, we modeled vitamin D supplementation longitudinally using pharmacy-dispensed purchases calibrated to predict serum 25(OH)D changes over time. Supplementation was independently associated with dose-dependent reductions across mortality and multiple aging-related outcomes; for > 10 ng/mL-equivalent supplementation, mortality HR was 0.72 (0.68-0.76), while showing no corresponding association for skin malignancy. To strengthen causal interpretation, we additionally implemented inverse-probability-of-treatment-weighted marginal structural Cox models for mortality, which yielded results consistent with conventional adjusted models. Together, these findings support severe vitamin D deficiency as an important and potentially modifiable determinant of systemic aging vulnerability and age-related multimorbidity in human populations.

View on PubMed →DOI: 10.1111/acel.70752