A recent research states that adding vitamin D supplements to asthma medicine for half of year could decrease by 50 percent the risk of exacerbation.
The specialists noticed that the individuals with mild asthma who took the vitamin D supplements were less inclined to be hospitalized than those who did not take the vitamins.
Across the world, more than 300 million individuals suffer from asthma symptoms including wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing. Asthma is a general long-term inflammatory illness of the lungs and airways. Relying on the individual, the symptoms might enhance with exercise or at night. Because the vitamin D supplements have long been connected to the disease, the lead author of the study decided to check the efficiency on volunteers with asthma.
Two trials including 658 adult individuals and seven trials concerning 435 kids were reviewed by the researchers. All of the patients suffered from a mild form of asthma, and their symptoms were manifesting at least two days a week. Most of the patients, if not all, mentioned that their day-to-day routine was profoundly affected by their health condition even if they took regular medicine for the disease.
The research conclusions proved that less than 30 micrograms of supplements decreased the risk of worsening in both children and adult individuals, with higher effects in grown-ups.
The lead author of the study, Adrian Martineau, mentioned at London’s Science Media Centre, that vitamin D supports the growth of bone, 35 other tissues, and white blood cells. It also increases the immunity against illness and decreases inflammation. The researchers are now trying to see whether the vitamin D helped any asthma patient or only the sufferers with vitamin D insufficiency. After taking the supplements the number of patients that required hospital treatment decreased from six percent to three percent.
However, Adrian mentioned that it is highly advised to addition the vitamins to regular asthma medicine and not the replacement of the medication with the supplements.
The president of research and clinical innovation at Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr. Imran Rafi, stated more research is needed on both adults and children to be capable of prescribing supplements of vitamin D for patients suffering from asthma.
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