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A shortage of vitamin D can lead to Parkinson’s disease and mental decline in old age, new research suggests. One 30-year study of 3,000 people revealed a three-fold higher risk of developing Parkinson’s in those with low blood levels of vitamin D.

A separate investigation found that low vitamin D intake was associated with a 60 per cent greater chance of suffering seriously impaired mental faculties later in life.

Both studies, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, add to evidence of the vitamin’s importance. Vitamin D is mainly generated by the action of sunlight on the skin. As people age their skin becomes less able to produce it.

Vitamin D is mainly generated by the action of sunlight on the skin. However, as people age their skin becomes less able to produce it.

Research suggests that, as well as strengthening bones, the vitamin also protects against cancers, heart disease and diabetes.

Vitamin D

Most people get the majority of their vitamin D from exposure to sunlight or by dietary supplements; fortified foods such as milk and packaged cereals are a minor source. Only a few foods in nature contain substantial amounts of vitamin D, such as salmon and tuna.

The body’s ability to produce vitamin D using UV-B radiation from the sun decreases with age, making older individuals at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency.

“We found that vitamin D insufficiency may have a unique association with Parkinson’s, which is intriguing and warrants further investigation,” the study says.

The connection could come partly because patients with Parkinson’s have mobility problems and are seldom exposed to the sun, or because low vitamin D levels are in some way related to the genesis or progression of the disease.

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