Can increasing vitamin D levels prevent dementia?

dementia (dementia); is a general term for a group of diseases that affect thought, memory, judgment, personality, mood, and behavior. In other words, this is not a single disease, as many people think. For example, Alzheimer’s disease is one type of dementia, but there are several other types. This decline in mental function due to dementia seriously affects people’s daily lives. It is estimated that approximately 50% of people aged 85 and over today have dementia.

Finally, let’s say that while dementia is more common with age, it’s not considered a normal part of aging. In other words, there are things you can do to avoid dementia in old age. According to a new study, one of them could be an increase in vitamin D intake. Before going into the details of the study, it is useful to give a brief background on dementia.

What is dementia?

Dementia is not a specific disease, but a description of a person’s state of mental functioning. There is a decrease in mental function from a higher level than before, so severe that it interferes with daily life. Although the symptoms of cognitive decline can vary from person to person, the telltale signs of dementia include:

• confusion, confusion
• Difficulty understanding others
• Difficulty reading or writing
• Hallucinations, delusions or paranoia
• have speech problems
• impulsiveness
• Memory loss
• difficulty making decisions
• Movement problems
• repeat yourself
• Takes more time to complete tasks
• Get lost walking even in familiar places

Symptoms of dementia are usually divided into three stages: early stage, middle stage and late stage dementia. As a person progresses from an early stage to an advanced stage, the symptoms increase and usually get worse.

What causes dementia?

Dementia occurs as a result of damage to brain cells. For example, when cells in the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory are damaged, these functions are disrupted.

. Researchers are still not sure what actually contributes to the damage to these cells. They think that genetics play a role in the development of dementia; however, dementia can still develop even if it is not inherited.

• . There are also some groups that are at higher risk of developing dementia. We can list risk factors for dementia as follows:
• Age: Most people with dementia are over 65 years of age.
• Family history: If a person’s parent or sibling has dementia, the risk of developing the condition is increased.
• Health status: Certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, increase the risk of developing dementia. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can also increase the risk of dementia.

Race:

On average, African Americans and Hispanics have a greater risk of developing dementia than white people. Scientific research investigating the relationship between dementia and vitamin D

What is dementia, its symptoms and causes

We have given a brief summary of this. Here are some recent studies showing that vitamin D can make a big difference in cognitive decline and brain longevity.

• Older people who increased their vitamin D intake were 40% less likely to develop dementia, according to a new observational study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The study also revealed important information about how individual factors (eg, demographics, genetics, behavior) play a role in the equation.
• The researchers assessed the effect of vitamin D exposure on the incidence of dementia in 12,388 older adults (mean age 71 years) from the National Alzheimer’s Disease Coordinating Center (NACC) dataset. At baseline, not all participants had dementia and one of the following cognitive diagnoses:

normal cognition

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

• In addition, participants were divided into those who had been exposed to vitamin D (i.e., those who took one of the three types of vitamin D supplements—D2, D3, or a combination of vitamin D and calcium—before baseline) and those who (i.e., e. people who did not increase their vitamin D intake through supplementation throughout the study) were divided into two groups.
• Can increasing vitamin D intake help prevent dementia?
• Looking at demographics, genetics, and a host of other factors, the impact of vitamin D exposure on dementia incidence and survival varied from group to group in interesting ways.
• Vitamin D exposure was associated with a 40% reduction in the incidence of dementia compared to no exposure.
• Five-year survival in the vitamin D group was also 15% higher than in the unexposed group.
• 75% of participants who developed dementia within 10 years had never been exposed to vitamin D before they were diagnosed.
• Women were at higher risk of dementia than men, but also responded 23% better to increased vitamin D intake (women who received vitamin D had a 49% lower incidence rate than unexposed women).

Not surprisingly, participants with normal cognitive function at baseline had a lower incidence of dementia than participants with mild cognitive impairment (MLB). However, the incidence of MCI in the vitamin D exposure group was still 33% lower than in participants with MCI and no vitamin D exposure.

In general, it has been found that increasing vitamin D intake can prevent dementia, especially before the onset of cognitive decline.

While other studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of dementia by 1 in 3, and higher levels of vitamin D are associated with positive cognitive health outcomes; The serum vitamin levels of the participants in this study were not documented. The researchers also did not determine the amount of vitamin D consumed by each member of the positive exposure group, so it should be noted that limited conclusions can be drawn from this observational study.

To maintain your cognitive lifespan, it’s helpful to keep track of your optimal vitamin status. To do this, you can check your vitamin D levels by consulting your doctor; Vitamin D supplements can be used if needed.

• What can we do to prevent dementia? Experts recommend the following lifestyle habits to prevent and prevent dementia:
• Engage in regular physical activity: Regular exercise can help increase blood flow to the brain. These exercises can include any activity such as walking, jogging or swimming.
• Healthy eating: Research shows that what we eat affects brain health. At this point, experts recommend limiting your intake of red meat, sugar, and saturated fat. Examples of brain-healthy foods are foods that contain vitamin D, such as green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, salmon, and milk.
• Play games for brain development: When you stimulate your mind, you can delay or prevent memory loss. You can do this by playing brain games, drawing or solving puzzles.
• Stay on social networks: Research shows that social activity may also have a protective effect against dementia. It could be just chatting with your neighbors or casual conversation with someone you meet in an elevator.
• Sleep: Sleep problems can lead to memory problems. That’s why a good night’s sleep is important and can help prevent dementia.
• Take care of your mental health: Research suggests that there may be a link between depression and dementia. Treating anxiety, depression, or other mental disorders can help reduce your potential risk of developing dementia.

Take care of your heart:

Conditions that increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, can also increase the risk of dementia. It’s important to get treated if you have any of these conditions to protect both your heart and brain.