Low vitamin D 'could lead to early blindness'

Low vitamin D levels in women under the age of 75 could lead to early vision loss, according to a study, potentially putting them in need of assisted living.

Research, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, found that women in this age group with high vitamin D status were less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a major cause of vision loss in adults.

Lead author Amy E Millen, from the University of Buffalo, said that the research was promising, but that more needs to be done.

"The take- home message from this study is that having very low vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin D blood concentrations lower than 38 nanomoles per litre) may be associated with increasing your odds of developing age-related macular degeneration," she said.

In other news, a high incidence of vitamin D insufficiency has been seen among Parkinson's sufferers, according to a study published in the Archives of Neurology.

It was found that while people with the condition have a high insufficiency of vitamin D, concentration levels do not decrease as the condition progresses.

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