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Washington: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to 26% greater risk of death in men and women, according to a study published on Monday that appears to confi rm the importance of this essential nutrient.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland, studied 13,000 initially healthy men and women from 1994 to 2000, comparing the mortality rate between those with low and normal levels of vitamin D in the blood. They found that of the 1,800 people who died by Dec 31, 2000 – 700 from cardiovascular diseases – 400 were deficient in vitamin D, which translated to a 26% increased risk of death.

The number of heart disease related deaths was insufficient to establish a cause-and-effect link to
vitamin D defi ciency, the researchers said in the study published in the the Archives of Internal Medicine. However, the study “does highlight a trend, with other studies linking shortages of vitamin D to increased rates of breast cancer and depression in the elderly.” Doctors recommend a 10-15-minute daily exposure to the sun for adequate levels of vitamin D, which is also found in fatty fishes. – AFP