Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2012 Sep 25;79(13):1397-405.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826c197f.

Vitamin D, cognition, and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cynthia Balion  1 , Lauren E Griffith, Lisa Strifler, Matthew Henderson, Christopher Patterson, George Heckman, David J Llewellyn, Parminder Raina
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Vitamin D, cognition, and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cynthia Balion et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between cognitive function and dementia with vitamin D concentration in adults.

Methods: Five databases were searched for English-language studies up to August 2010, and included all study designs with a comparative group. Cognitive function or impairment was defined by tests of global or domain-specific cognitive performance and dementia was diagnosed according to recognized criteria. A vitamin D measurement was required. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed study quality using predefined criteria. The Q statistic and I² methods were used to test for heterogeneity. We conducted meta-analyses using random effects models for the weighted mean difference (WMD) and Hedge's g.

Results: Thirty-seven studies were included; 8 contained data allowing mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores to be compared between participants with vitamin D <50 nmol/L to those with values ≥50 nmol/L. There was significant heterogeneity among the studies that compared the WMD for MMSE but an overall positive effect for the higher vitamin D group (1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5 to 1.9; I² = 0.65; p = 0.002). The small positive effect persisted despite several sensitivity analyses. Six studies presented data comparing Alzheimer disease (AD) to controls but 2 utilized a method withdrawn from commercial use. For the remaining 4 studies the AD group had a lower vitamin D concentration compared to the control group (WMD = -6.2 nmol/L, 95% CI -10.6 to -1.8) with no heterogeneity (I² < 0.01; p = 0.53).

Conclusion: These results suggest that lower vitamin D concentrations are associated with poorer cognitive function and a higher risk of AD. Further studies are required to determine the significance and potential public health benefit of this association.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow diagram showing the study selection process for this systematic review
Figure 2
Figure 2. Vitamin D concentration in Alzheimer disease and control groups
Figure 3
Figure 3. Mini-Mental State Examination and vitamin D group (<50 nmol/L and ≥50 nmol/L)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. McCann JC, Ames BN. Is there convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction? FASEB J 2008; 22: 982– 1001 - PubMed
    1. Buell JS, Dawson-Hughes B. Vitamin D and neurocognitive dysfunction: preventing “D”ecline? Mol Aspects Med 2008; 29: 415– 422 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eyles DW, Smith S, Kinobe R, Hewison M, McGrath JJ. Distribution of the vitamin D receptor and 1 alpha-hydroxylase in human brain. J Chem Neuroanat 2005; 29: 21– 30 - PubMed
    1. Morris HA, Anderson PH. Autocrine and paracrine actions of vitamin D. Clin Biochem Rev 2010; 31: 129– 138 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Neveu I, Naveilhan P, Jehan F, et al. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 regulates the synthesis of nerve growth factor in primary cultures of glial cells. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 1994; 24: 70– 76 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms