Vitamin D is mainly created in the body through direct exposure to sunlight. From about late March/early April to the end of September, most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight. These nutrients are essential to keeping bones, teeth and muscles healthy. It is well understood that lacking the vitamin could hike a person’s risk of developing serious bone deformities, but evidence also suggests it could heighten the risk of contracting pneumonia, according to a University of Eastern Finland study.
The study found the risk of contracting pneumonia was more than 2.5 times greater in subjects with the lowest vitamin D levels than in subjects with high vitamin D levels.
Pneumonia is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs. It’s usually caused by a bacterial infection.
The follow-up study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, investigated the link between serum vitamin D3 and the risk of contracting pneumonia.
The study involved 1,421 subjects living in the Kuopio region in Eastern Finland.
The serum vitamin D3 levels of the subjects were measured from blood samples drawn in 1998-2001, and these data were compared against reported cases of pneumonia in hospital records in the same set of subjects in 1998-2009.
The results showed that during the follow-up, subjects with serum vitamin D3 levels representing the lowest third were more than 2.5 times more likely to contract pneumonia than subjects with high vitamin D3 levels.
Furthermore, smoking constituted a significant risk factor for pneumonia.
The risk of contracting pneumonia also grew by age, and was greater in men than women.
At baseline, the mean serum D3 concentration of the study population was 43.5 nmol/l, and the mean age of the study population was 62.5 years.
This University of Eastern Finland study was the first one to establish that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of contracting pneumonia in the ageing general population.
According to the researchers, this finding supports earlier observations on the diverse role of vitamin D in the body, and it also calls for further research on vitamin D deficiency as a public health issue.
In northern latitudes, there is enough sun exposure to maintain sufficient vitamin D levels in summer, but not during the winter season, and vitamin D supplementation is often required. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D in Finland is 20 micrograms for those over 60 years of age.
The Department of Health recommended people in the UK take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year if they:
- Aren’t often outdoors – for example, if you’re frail or housebound
- Are in an institution like a care home
- Usually wear clothes that cover up most of your skin when outdoors
The NHS warned against exceeding the recommended dosage of vitamin D supplements, however.
As the body explained: “Taking too many vitamin D supplements over a long period of time can cause too much calcium to build up in the body (hypercalcaemia).”
It added: “This can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and the heart.”
According to Holland and Barrett, symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency may include:
- Low mood
- Ageing
- Body weight
- Digestive problems
- Achy bones and joints
- Head sweats
