Vitamin D may lower risk of multiple sclerosis in Caucasians

10.06.2014

The highest circulating levels of vitamin D in Caucasians were associated with a 62% lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis than those with the lowest levels.

The inverse relation with multiple sclerosis risk was particularly strong for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels measured before age 20 years. No such association was found for Blacks or Hispanics in this study. These data fit with epidemiological and experimental evidence which show that vitamin D is a potent immunomodulator since multiple sclerosis is thought to be an autoimmune disease.

A Ascherio et al (2006) Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of multiple sclerosis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 2832-2838.

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