Vitamin D supplements, naiibsan ang asthma attacks

MAIIWASAN ang malulubhang asthma attacks na nangangailangan ng steroid treatment o pagkakaospital kapag uminom ang mayroon nito ng vitamin D supplements, ayon sa isang bagong pag-aaral.

Sinuri ng mga mananaliksik ang pinagsamang data mula sa mga naunang inilathalang pag-aaral sa 955 pasyente na may asthma na randomly selected para uminom ng vitamin D o placebo pill, bukod sa iba pang gamot upang maibsan ang kanilang karamdaman.

Ang asthma patients na uminom ng vitamin D supplements, ay 54 porsiyentong mas nakaiwas sa malubhang atake na nangangailangan ng emergency room visit o hospital admission, natuklasan sa pag-aaral. Sila ay 31% ring bibihira nang atakehin ng asthma na nangangailangan ng paggamot ng corticosteroids.

Gayunman, lumalabas na ang mga benepisyo sa pag- inom ng vitamin D ay epektibo lamang sa mga taong may kakulangan nito.

“The take-home message is that asthma patients who suffer with attacks (exacerbations) should get their vitamin D level checked, and if it is low, they should take a vitamin D supplement - there is negligible risk associated with doing this, and there is pretty good evidence to suggest that this could reduce their

risk of having an attack,” sabi ng senior study author na si Dr. Adrian Martineau ng Queen Mary University of London sa UK.

“It’s very important to emphasize that asthma patients should not stop taking their usual asthma therapy,” saad sa email ni Martineau. “All of the studies included in our review looked at the effects of giving vitamin D on top of usual therapy.”

Sa buong mundo, mahigit 300 milyong katao ang mayroong asthma, ang sakit ay dahilan ng tinatayang 400,000 kamatayan bawat taon, saad ng mga mananaliksik sa The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Sa pag- aaral, ang mga partisipante ay naninirahan sa anim na bansa sa tatlong kontinente, at nasa edad 1 hanggang 85 anyos.

“In addition to benefits in asthma, vitamin D supplementation can reduce risk of colds and flu in people who don’t have asthma and protect against rickets in children and osteomalacia ( softening of the bones) in adults,” ani Martineau.

“It is possible to take too much vitamin D, and if you do, it can cause high calcium levels that can result in kidney damage in extreme cases,” dagdag ni Martineau. “However, this would not occur at the doses investigated in the trials that contributed to our analysis.”