New UK research has found that taking oral vitamin D supplements alongside standard asthma medication could bring even bigger benefits for sufferers, halving the risk of attacks that need hospital assistance.
Led by researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the study looked at data from 955 participants taking part in seven randomized controlled trials, which tested the use of vitamin D supplements and included patients with mild to moderate asthma.
The results showed that taking vitamin D supplements led to a 30 percent reduction in the rate of asthma attacks requiring treatment with steroid tablets or injections, and a 50 percent reduction in the risk of experiencing at least one asthma attack requiring Accident and Emergency Department attendance and/or hospitalization.
The team also found that vitamin D supplementation had a particularly strong and statistically-significant protective effect in participants who had low vitamin D levels to start with, with these patients benefiting from a 55 percent reduction in the rate of asthma attacks requiring treatment with steroid tablets or injections.
It is believed vitamin D can have a protective effect against asthma attacks by boosting immune responses to respiratory infections and reducing harmful airway inflammation, which is a common cause of asthma attacks.
"These results add to the ever growing body of evidence that vitamin D can support immune function as well as bone health," commented lead researcher Professor Adrian Martineau, "On average, three people in the UK die from asthma attacks every day. Vitamin D is safe to take and relatively inexpensive so supplementation represents a potentially cost-effective strategy to reduce this problem."
The team also pointed out that the vitamin D supplements given to participants were found to be safe at the doses given, with no excessively high calcium levels or renal stones seen during the study.
Although the study had some limitations, including a small number of patients in each sub-group, Professor Hywel Williams, Director of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme, noted that, "The results of this NIHR-funded study brings together evidence from several other studies from over the world and is an important contribution to reducing uncertainties on whether Vitamin D is helpful for asthma -- a common condition that impacts on many thousands of people worldwide."
The team now hope further clinical trials which look at children and adults with severe asthma, and larger studies, will help confirm the effectiveness of vitamin D supplements on the condition.
The results can be found published online in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
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