The current study included 723 men and 698 women between the ages of 53 and 73 enrolled in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Subjects were free of pneumonia and other pulmonary diseases at the beginning of the current investigation. Blood samples obtained upon enrollment were analyzed for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels, which averaged 43.5 nanomoles per liter (17.43 ng/mL). The participants were followed for an average of 9.8 years, during which 73 subjects were hospitalized at least once due to pneumonia. A greater risk of pneumonia was observed in association with increasing age. Researchers Alex Aregbesola and his colleagues at the University of Eastern Finland Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition found that men and women whose serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels were among the lowest one-third of participants had 2.6 times the risk of contracting pneumonia in comparison with those whose levels were highest. Men were likelier to develop pneumonia than women, and smokers more than nonsmokers. Adjustment of the data for several factors failed to modify the results.
The current study is the first to demonstrate an association between insufficient vitamin D levels and a greater risk of pneumonia among aging individuals in the general population. The findings corroborate those of previous research which indicated that reduced vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of infection. In northern countries such as Finland, sun exposure is insufficient during winter, necessitating vitamin D supplementation. The authors suggest that vitamin D deficiency is a public health issue, and recommend further research.
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