Some
studies have suggested the vitamin from sunshine boosts the immune system and
helps prevents colds, some cancers and heart disease.
However
there is still a lack of clear scientific evidence to support many of these
claims.
Researchers
from the University of Otago, Christchurch, are engaged in a large scale study
of vitamin D (called the Vitamin D and Acute Respiratory Infection Study or
VIDARIS) and have published a new paper on its effect on the common cold.
The
study, published in the latest edition of the prestigiousJournal of
the American Medical Association(JAMA), found that taking vitamin D
supplements did not result in participants having fewer or less severe episodes
of upper respiratory tract infections.
Adult
participants (more than 300 Cantabrians) took either a placebo pill or a
vitamin D pill every month for a year and half.
Researchers
measured the number and severity of participants’ colds during this time.
They
found no statistical difference between those taking the placebo pills and
those given vitamin D supplements.
VIDARIS
principal investigator Professor David Murdoch says there has been considerable
speculation about the potential role of vitamin D in preventing a variety of
infections, including the common cold.
“Up
to now we have lacked evidence to support any benefit from well-designed
studies, despite so much money being spent on supplements.”
“VIDARIS
is the first study to convincingly show that vitamin D does not prevent colds
in healthy adults. However, it is important to note that very few people in our
study had extremely low levels of vitamin D at the beginning. So, our findings
may not apply to these people and to children who should now be the focus of
further research.’’
Vitamin
D supplements may still be of benefit for bone health and for the prevention of
other conditions, Professor Murdoch says.
The VIDARIS study is also looking at whether vitamin D prevents other
infections, including carriage in the nose of staphylococcal bacteria.
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