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Associations Between Vitamin D and Self‐Reported Respiratory Disease in Older People from a Nationally Representative Population Survey
Author(s) -
Hirani Vasant
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.12254
Subject(s) - medicine , quartile , odds ratio , vitamin d and neurology , national health and nutrition examination survey , vitamin d deficiency , respiratory disease , confidence interval , population , incidence (geometry) , respiratory system , cross sectional study , respiratory tract infections , gerontology , environmental health , lung , pathology , physics , optics
Objectives To investigate the association between serum 25‐hydroxy vitamin D (25( OH ) D ) concentrations and respiratory diseases in older people. Design Cross‐sectional, nationally representative sample. Setting Community. Participants Two thousand seventy noninstitutionalized adults aged 65 and older taking part in the Health Survey for England 2005. Measurements Serum 25( OH )D levels, self‐reported long‐term respiratory tract diseases, and covariates (age, sex, social class, season of examination, use of vitamin supplements, and physical health status). Results Participants with severe deficiency (25( OH )D < 35 nmol/L) had more than twice the risk of respiratory disease than those in the highest quartile of 25( OH ) D status (>64 nmol/L), and those with moderate deficiency (second quartile: 25( OH ) D 35–48.9 nmol/L) had 1.75 times greater odds of respiratory diseases, even after adjustment with covariates. Adjusted analysis showed that those in the third quartile (25( OH ) D 49.0 to 63.9 nmol/L) also had a greater risk of respiratory disease (odds ratio = 1.63, 95% confidence interval = 1.04–2.57). Conclusion Low serum 25( OH )D concentrations are associated with respiratory disease. Ensuring adequate 25( OH )D levels is of public health importance for older populations living in northern latitudes and may be an effective way to prevent concurrent respiratory infections and related complications in older people. Further studies are required to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation may reduce the incidence and exacerbations of respiratory disease.