OFTEN dubbed the sunshine vitamin, as it’s produced by our bodies when we’re exposed to the sun, Vitamin D has been causing excitement in the medical community this month.
Two pieces of research have linked low levels of the vitamin to ill health. One five year study claims Scotland’s poor health record is related to the country’s low levels of sunlight – and hence a lack of vitamin D. A second study claims low levels of the vitamin may contribute to chronic pain in women.
The author of the first report, London-based researcher and writer Dr Oliver Gillie, claims the link between a lack of vitamin D and poor health among the Scots is so compelling that he has called for ‘urgent’ Government moves to encourage the population to take a daily dose.
His study – Scotland’s Health Deficit: An Explanation and a Plan - builds on previous research into vitamin D deficiency, which had already established a link to higher rates of multiple sclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, several cancers and cardiovascular disease.
Dr Gillie points out that not only does Scotland have some of the highest rates of these conditions in Europe – people die younger on average in Scotland than in almost any other western European nation – but vitamin D deficiency is twice as common in the Scots as in their neighbours in England.
His figures show that the difference in the amount of sunshine north and south of the Border is marked: Glasgow, for example, gets 400 hours less sun than London each year. He concludes that chronic illness north of the Border is linked to the resulting lack of vitamin D.
Dr Gillie has suggested that in addition to offering daily vitamin D supplements for the population, the Scottish Government should consider adding vitamin D supplements to foods such as bread, orange juice and milk.
Meanwhile the second study, by a team from London’s Institute of Child Health, has linked a lack of the vitamin to chronic pain in women.
One in ten people in the UK are thought to be affected by chronic pain.
When studying 7,000 men and women aged 45 from England, Scotland and Wales the researchers found that, among the women, vitamin D levels appeared to play a part.
Those with a level of vitamin D thought to be necessary for good bone health had the lowest rates of chronic pain – just over eight per cent. Those with much lower levels of the vitamin had the highest rates of chronic pain – 14.4 per cent.
The researchers are now calling for further studies to see if vitamin D supplements could help prevent chronic pain. Vitamin D is also found in oily fish, egg yolks and margarine
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