Take vitamin D to protect lungs from effects of smoking

Washington:  Vitamin D may protect your lungs against the effects of smoking, a new research has claimed. Researchers from Boston found that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers, suggesting that vitamin D may have a protective effect against the effects of smoking on lungs. [caption id=“attachment_384722” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Agencies[/caption] “We examined the relationship between vitamin D deficiency, smoking, lung function, and the rate of lung function decline over a 20 year period in a cohort of 626 adult white men from the Normative Aging Study,” said lead author Nancy E. Lange from the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We found that vitamin D sufficiency had a protective effect on lung function and the rate of lung function decline in smokers,” she said. The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. “Our results suggest that vitamin D might modify the damaging effects of smoking on lung function,” Lange said. “These effects might be due to vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties,” she added. The data of the study was observational only and not a trial. “If these results can be replicated in other studies, they could be of great public health importance,” said Lange. “Future research should also examine whether vitamin D protects against lung damage from other sources, such as air pollution,” she said. PTI