“Linking the organism’s individual response to vitamin D to immunocompetence, or in general: high immunity – may be the key to explaining the mechanism of how vitamin D protects against the most common diseases and at the same time promotes healthy ageing”, reports the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IRZiBŻ PAN) in Olsztyn.

Vitamin D influences the functioning of the entire organism through its modulating effect on the immune system. Its deficiency, on the other hand, causes defective functioning of the immune system, leading to, among other things, increased susceptibility to infectious diseases or autoimmune diseases.

Based on the results of his earlier research, Professor Carsten Carlberg of the IRZiBŻ PAN, a world-renowned biochemist specialising in vitamin D research, proposed dividing the population into three groups in terms of the level of the organism’s response to vitamin D: highly responsive, moderately responsive and low responsive. A high level of responsiveness means that the body is able to maximise the effects of vitamin D (has a high molecular response to vitamin D) and that in this group of people the need for supplementation is less than in the low-responsive group.

As overall immunocompetence decreases during ageing, the relative number of immune cells decreases. However, even among older people, there are differences in immune response. The association between the level of an individual’s response to vitamin D and their immunocompetence has a significant role in the ageing process.

“Our findings suggest that vitamin D is an important component of healthy ageing, not only for the maintenance of bone and skeletal muscle health, but also for immune system homeostasis. Sufficient amounts of vitamin D, tailored to the body’s individual needs, should stabilise immune immunity, protect against many diseases and keep the rate of ageing low”, concludes Prof Carlberg.

Adrian Andrzejewski