Vitamin D pill cuts asthma attack threat

TAKING vitamin D supplements can cut the risk of a severe asthma attack by half, experts have found.

British scientists yesterday described the pill as a ‘designer drug’ for asthma. It reduces inflammation in the lungs and wards off the viruses that spark attacks.

A major review, involving nearly 1,100 patients, found that people who took the supplements with their normal medication saw the risk of a severe attack fall from 6 per cent to 3 per cent.

The review, led by the Queen Mary University of London, found they were less likely to need hospital treatment, were at lower risk of having to visit A&E and were less likely to need steroid tablets.

Some 5. million in the UK suffer from asthma, with three people a day dying from attacks. Two thirds of deaths are thought to be preventable.

Study leader Professor Adrian Martineau, whose work was published in the Cochrane Library, said: ‘Asthma is a rising problem in the UK. Vitamin D, or the sunshine vitamin, as well as enhancing bone development helps the development of at least 35 other tissues and white blood cells.’