Vitamin D for eye health and physical performance in the aging population

During three years of observation, subjects with low levels of vitamin D3 were compared to participants with higher levels. The subjects with low levels of vitamin D3 were found to have significantly lower physical strength and much more decline in physical performance.

The role of Vitamin D3 in the retinal neovascularization process was studied in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. In this study, the effect of vitamin D3 in the prevention of pathological and endothelial cell proliferation and migration as well as capillary morphogenesis was evaluated. Researchers found that animals treated with vitamin D3 were found to have a significant decrease in pathological retinal neovascularization. The effect was dose dependent. This means that animals who received a higher dose of vitamin D3 had a higher protection effect from the pathological neovascularization process. The neovascularization process is one of the main pathological mechanisms in the vision loss development of patients suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

The conclusion of this study was that vitamin D3 may be a potent inhibitor of retinal neovascularization and may be of benefit in the treatment of a variety of eye diseases with a neovascular component. The evaluation of vitamin D levels, as well as supplementation with vitamin D, should be studied in people suffering from eye diseases with neovascularization pathogenesis.

Vitamin D status may predict physical performance in elderly people. This was found in the study conducted in the Amsterdam-Netherlands. The study involved 1200 participants at the age of 65 or older with documented low serum levels of vitamin D3. The participants were found to have a decline in physical performance. After proper adjustment for gender, age, chronic diseases, body mass index, and consumption of alcohol, the vitamin D3 level was found to be independently associated with physical performance. During three years of observation, subjects with serum levels below 10 ng/ml and between 10 and 20 ng/ml were compared to participants with higher levels. The subjects with lower serum levels were found to have significantly lower physical strength and much more decline in physical performance.The researchers’ conclusion was that since almost 50% of the population had a serum level of vitamin D3 below 20ng/ml, Public Health strategies should be targeted at this group. Additional investigation is necessary to evaluate the impact of supplementation with vitamin D on physical performance and decline in the aging population.