Vitamin D intake and incidence of multiple sclerosis - Abstracts - Brief Article

Alternative Medicine Review, March, 2004 by K.L. Munger, S.M. Zhang, E. O'Reilly

Munger KL, Zhang SM, O'Reilly E. et al. Neurology 2004;62:60-65.

BACKGROUND: A protective effect of vitamin D on risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been proposed, but no prospective studies have addressed this hypothesis. METHODS: Dietary vitamin D retake was examined directly in relation to risk of MS in two large cohorts of women: the Nurses Health Study (NHS: 92,253 women followed from 1980 to 2000) and Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II; 95,310 women followed from 1991 to 2001). Diet was assessed at baseline and updated every 4 years thereafter. During the follow-up, 173 cases of MS with onset of symptoms after baseline were confirmed. RESULTS: The pooled age-adjusted relative risk (RR) comparing women in the highest quintile of total vitamin D intake fit baseline with those in the lowest was 0.67 (95% CI = 0.40 to 1.12: p for trend = 0.03). Intake of vitamin D from supplements was also inversely associated with risk of MS; the RR comparing women with intake of > or = 400 IU/day with women with no supplemental vitamin D intake was 0.59 (95% CI = 0.38 to 0.91: p for trend = 0.006). No association was found between vitamin D from food and MS incidence. CONCLUSION: These results support a protective effect of vitamin D intake on risk of developing MS.