Vitamin D 'can protect against smoking-associated lung disease'
20 July 2012 15:40 in Scientific Developments/Breakthroughs
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.
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