Vitamin D ‘can protect against smoking-associated lung disease’

A new study has identified a link between vitamin D intake levels and improved protection against smoking-associated lung function decline.

The US-based research team assessed the relationship between vitamin D deficiency, smoking and lung function among 626 adult patients over a 20-year period.

It was found that a lack of vitamin D was associated with poorer lung health and a more rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers, which could be attributed to the vitamin's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Vitamin D is generally found within oily fish, eggs, powdered milk and fortified fat spreads, playing a key role in regulating the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.

Lead author Dr Nancy Lange of the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, said: "If these results can be replicated in other studies, they could be of great public health importance."

This comes after a report from the Shanghai Cancer Institute earlier this week revealed that vitamin E can be used as a means of protecting people against liver cancer.