This Supplement Helps Prevent Cancer: It Could Prevent Up to 30,000 Deaths Annually
In recent years, three meta-analyses of clinical studies have concluded that vitamin D supplementation is associated with a roughly 13 percent reduction in cancer mortality rates.
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) applied these results to the situation in Germany and calculated: if all Germans over the age of 50 took vitamin D supplements, up to 30,000 cancer deaths could be avoided each year and more than 300,000 additional years of life could be gained. Additionally, significant savings in the healthcare system could be achieved.
For years, scientists have been researching the impact of adequate vitamin D supply on the prognosis of various diseases. Particular focus has been on inflammatory diseases, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and cancer.
How and to What Extent Vitamin D Affects Cancer Prevention
Over the past few years, three meta-analyses of large clinical studies have been published examining how vitamin D levels affect cancer mortality rates. All reached the same conclusion: vitamin D supplementation reduces cancer mortality by about 13 percent – across all types of cancer.
The meta-analyses included only methodologically high-quality randomized trials from around the world. The exact biological mechanisms behind this effect are still unclear.
"In many countries around the world, age-adjusted cancer mortality rates have fortunately been declining over the past decade," says epidemiologist Dr. Hermann Brenner from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).
"However, considering the high costs of many new cancer drugs, that progress often comes with a hefty financial price. Vitamin D, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive in common daily doses." Vitamin D deficiency is common among older adults, especially those suffering from cancer.
