BBC Medical Science — Spending more time in the sun could help older people cut their risk of heart disease and diabetes say experts. Sun exposure helps the skin make vitamin D - a vitamin older people are generally deficient in due to their lifestyles and ageing processes.
A team at Warwick University has shown a deficiency increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, which is linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Their study of more than 3,000 people is published in Diabetes Care.
The researchers say older people would benefit from more sunshine, although it is still important to be sensible in the sun as UV damage is linked with skin cancer. Among the 50 to 70-year-olds living in China that the scientists studied, 94% had a vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) deficiency or insufficiency and 42% also had metabolic syndrome.
Lead researcher Dr Oscar Franco says the same can be seen in British and American populations too. “Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a condition that is causing a large burden of disease across the globe with particular deleterious impact among the elderly. We found that low vitamin D levels were associated with an increased risk of having metabolic syndrome, and was also significantly associated with increased insulin resistance.”
Metabolic syndrome’s cluster of obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can lead to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Vitamin D is mainly obtained from exposure to the sun, as well as from certain foods such as oily fish and eggs. There are concerns that many people, including the elderly, pregnant women and those who wear all-concealing clothing do not get enough of the vitamin. (05/17/09)
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