Scientists from the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University and other institutions have found that vitamin D supplementation may strongly reduce the risk of cancer-related death.
The study was conducted by Yu Zhang and colleagues and published in The BMJ.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for overall health. It helps the body absorb calcium, which is crucial for building and maintaining strong bones.
Together with calcium, vitamin D helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and increases fracture risk.
Beyond bone health, vitamin D plays many other important roles. It supports muscle function, helps nerves carry messages between the brain and body, and strengthens the immune system, helping it fight infections.
There are two main forms of vitamin D: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is mostly human-made and added to foods, while vitamin D3 is naturally produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight and is also found in animal-based foods.
Research has consistently shown that vitamin D3 is more effective at raising vitamin D levels in the body compared with vitamin D2. A recent review further confirmed that vitamin D3 supplementation results in greater increases in blood vitamin D levels.
In the new study, researchers aimed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation is associated with lower death risk in adults. They conducted a systematic review of published human studies, including 52 studies with more than 75,000 participants.
The review found that vitamin D supplementation was not associated with a reduced risk of:
- all-cause mortality
- death from heart disease
- death from non-heart-related causes
- death from non-cancer causes
However, vitamin D supplementation strongly reduced the risk of cancer death. Further analyses showed that vitamin D3, in particular, was linked to a lower risk of all-cause death compared with vitamin D2.
Based on the findings, the researchers concluded that vitamin D supplementation is not linked to reduced all-cause mortality in adults. However, vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of cancer death by approximately 16%. They note that large clinical trials are needed to determine whether vitamin D3 supplementation specifically can reduce all-cause death risk.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies that blackcurrants can reduce blood sugar after meal and results showing the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease.
