To Your Health
October, 2017 (Vol. 11, Issue 10) |
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Vitamin D Deficiency May Make Asthma Worse
By Editorial Staff
All asthmatics wish they could find a way to reduce the risk of emergency intervention (steroid treatment or hospitalization). Vitamin D, a micronutrient proving valuable for more health conditions on a seemingly daily basis, may be an option. In a review of seven previously published studies involving nearly 1,000 asthma patients, vitamin D supplementation reduced the likelihood that patients would suffer an asthma attack serious enough to require an ER visit or hospital admission (54 percent less likely); and reduced the likelihood of experiencing frequent asthma attacks requiring drug (corticosteroid) treatment (31 percent less likely).
Patients who were vitamin D deficient at the start of the study benefited the most from supplementation, at least in terms of asthma attacks; patients with normal vitamin D levels realized a much smaller reduction in attacks. That illuminates two morals to our story: 1) Vitamin D deficiency may make your asthma worse; and 2) All asthma patients should get their vitamin D levels checked to ensure they are not deficient. Talk to your doctor for additional information.
