Rhonda Patrick· PhD
Mendelian Randomization (peer-reviewed, n=294,000+) demonstrates genetically determined low vitamin D levels increase dementia risk by 54%, strongly supporting causality.
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The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
Mendelian Randomization (peer-reviewed, n=294,000+) demonstrates genetically determined low vitamin D levels increase dementia risk by 54%, strongly supporting causality.
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Your "quick-and-dirty" Mendelian randomization (MR) is already outmatched by a peer-reviewed MR that aligns closely with the observational data linking vitamin D to dementia risk.
My recent video highlighted strong observational evidence that vitamin D reduces dementia risk by ~40%.
Mendelian Randomization (peer-reviewed, n=294,000+) demonstrates genetically determined low vitamin D levels increase dementia risk by 54%, strongly supporting causality.
More than 30 large studies have consistently linked low vitamin D levels to a 50–150% increased dementia risk.
People genetically prone to low vitamin D—those with genetic variations affecting vitamin D production or metabolism—have a 54% higher dementia risk.
But we also have a whole host of other data to support the link between vitamin D deficiency and dementia risk and Alzheimer's disease risk. So for example with these observational studies we can look at what's called mandelian randomization. This is a way to use genetics to look at how something in the environment can affect an outcome. In this case, there's many different genes that regulate the ability of your body to pro to to produce vitamin D3 and convert it into the steroid hormone. And some people do that less effectively because they have a certain variation in those genes that are not doing it quite as well. And so you can look at genetically low vitamin D levels. In other words, you just look at someone's genes and if they have a certain variation of that vitamin D converting gene that makes it not as effective, you put them into the low vitamin D group because we know people with those genes actually do have low vitamin D. And then you compare them to people that have the normal functioning genes that don't make them have low vitamin D levels. They don't have low 125 hydroxy vitamin D, which is the actual steroid hormone. And then you look at the risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. And so what's been shown is that genetically low vitamin D levels increase dementia risk by up to 54%.
There's been studies linking about you know vitamin D deficiency with an 80% increased risk of dementia. If we turn to the Mandelian randomization studies again just looking at genetically low vitamin D we do see that there's about a 50% increased dementia risk.