Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Weight Gain in Some Older Women

PORTLAND, Ore., June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Older women with insufficient levels of Vitamin D gained more weight than those with sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online today in the Journal of Women's Health. The study of more than 4,600 women ages 65 and older found that over nearly five years, those with insufficient levels of Vitamin D in their blood gained about two pounds more than those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

"This is one of the first studies to show that women with low levels of Vitamin D gain more weight, and although it was only two pounds, over time that can add up," said study author Erin LeBlanc, MD, an endocrinologist and researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon. "Nearly 80 percent of women in our study had insufficient levels of Vitamin D. A primary source of this important vitamin is sunlight, and as modern societies move indoors, continuous Vitamin D insufficiency may be contributing to chronic weight gain."

Vitamin D was in the news recently when a panel of primary care experts-- the US Preventive Services Task Force-- said healthy postmenopausal women may need higher doses of the vitamin to prevent fractures, and that there isn't enough evidence to recommend the supplements for younger people. Other expert groups, including The Endocrine Society, have a different take, saying many adults do need Vitamin D supplements to keep their bones healthy.[1]

"Our study only shows an association between insufficient levels of Vitamin D and weight gain,  we would need to do more studies before recommending the supplements to keep people from gaining weight," LeBlanc said. "Since there are so many conflicting recommendations about taking Vitamin D for any reason, it's best if patients get advice from their own health care provider."

She points out that this study was conducted among older women who, for the most part, were not trying to lose weight—though some of them did so as a natural result of aging. About 60 percent  of the 4,659 women in the study remained at a stable weight (within 5 percent of their starting weight) over the 4.5-year study period, 27 percent lost more than 5 percent of their body weight, and 12 percent gained more than 5 percent of their body weight.

Most women in the study (78 percent) had less than 30 nanograms per millimeter (ng/ml) of Vitamin D in their blood—the level defined as sufficient by The Endocrine Society panel of experts who set clinical guidelines on Vitamin D deficiency. These women had higher baseline weight to begin with: 148.6 pounds, compared with 141.6 pounds for women whose Vitamin D levels were 30 ng/ml or above. Insufficient levels had no association with weight changes in the entire group of women, or in the group that lost weight. But in the group of 571 women who gained weight, those with insufficient Vitamin D levels gained more—18.5 pounds over five years—than women who had sufficient Vitamin D. The latter group gained 16.4 pounds over the same period.

This study is part of a larger project called the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures that has been ongoing for more than two decades. During 1986–88, SOF enrolled nearly 10,000 women ages 65 and older and tracked their medical history through office and home visits, mailed surveys, and telephone calls. The women are from Baltimore; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; and the Monongahela Valley near Pittsburgh. The SOF study is supported by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute on Aging.

Authors include Erin S. LeBlanc, MD, MPH, Joanne H. Rizzo, MPA, Kathryn L. Pedula, MS, and Teresa A. Hillier MD, MS, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon; Kristine E. Ensrud, MD, from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Department of Medicine and Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, University of Minnesota in St. Paul; Jane Cauley, MD, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh; and Marc Hochberg from the Department of Medicine, University of Maryland in Baltimore.

About the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research

The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a nonprofit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. It has research sites in Portland, Ore., Honolulu, Hawaii and Atlanta. http://www.kpchr.org

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care  providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission  is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to   improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the  District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal  physicians, specialists and  team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered  and supported by industry-leading technology advances and  tools for  health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery   and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is  dedicated to  care innovations, clinical research, health education and  the support of  community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/newscenter.

[1] The Endocrine Society's Clinical Guidelines for the Evaluation, Treatment and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency, pg 21. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, July 2011, 96(7): 1911-1930.

For more information, contact:
Mary Sawyers, [email protected], 503-335-6602
Catherine Hylas Saunders, [email protected], 202-585-2603

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente