Vitamin D May Delay Deterioration of Smokers’ Lungs
Among smokers, lung function may decline faster in those who have a vitamin D deficiency than in those with normal vitamin D levels, a new study suggests.
However, although boosting levels of vitamin D may offer some protection to the lungs from the effects of smoking, it won’t prevent deteriorating lung function or smoking-related health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer, the researchers warned.
“Vitamin D, possibly due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, could provide a small amount of protection against lung damage that occurs from smoking,” said lead researcher Dr. Nancy Lange, of the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“If these findings are replicated in other studies and interventional trials, vitamin D supplementation could have the potential to provide some protection against the damage to lung function that is due to smoking,” she said.
Lange emphasized that the effect was small and “the most important intervention, for both lung and overall health, is for people to stop smoking.”
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