Because low levels of Vitamin D are common in people who have COPD, and people with severe COPD are at the highest risk for COPD exacerbation, researchers once believed that low Vitamin D levels were associated with a higher risk of COPD exacerbation. After a recent, North American study, this hypothesis has now been tossed aside.
The cohort study, consisting of 973 COPD patients, found that low levels of Vitamin D were NOT associated with COPD exacerbation in patients with severe COPD. Ken M. Kunisaki, M.D., of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center said this about the study:
"Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are common in patients with COPD, and patients with severe COPD are at the highest risk for exacerbations, so we hypothesized that low vitamin D levels might increase the risk of AECOPDs. Our negative results are in contrast with earlier studies in which lower vitamin D levels were associated with higher rates of respiratory infections in adults and more frequent asthma exacerbations in children."
He further concluded:
"Contrary to what we expected, baseline vitamin D levels were not related to the risk of subsequent AECOPDs in this large group of COPD patients at high risk of AECOPD. Vitamin D supplementation is unlikely to have an effect on AECOPD risk in these patients."
Vitamin D is necessary for absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. People who get adequate amounts of sunshine don't really need to take Vitamin D supplements. However, for people with COPD who spend a lot of time indoors, low Vitamin D levels are quite common. COPD patients may therefore benefit from Vitamin D supplementation.
A simple blood test will tell you whether your Vitamin D levels are within normal limits. If low, you may want to talk to your doctor about adding Vitamin D supplements to your diet.
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