Reducing The Severity Of Chronic Endocrine-Related Diseases: The Vitamin D Connection

Main Category: Endocrinology
Article Date: 09 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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An adequate amount of Vitamin D is known to improve bone density, but the impact goes much further than bone strength; Vitamin D deficiency can impact nearly all of the body's functions. This topic will be investigated at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 17th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress, on Thursday, May 15, 2008, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando.

"Vitamin D plays an important role in most of the body's tissues," Robert P. Heaney, FACP, FACN said. "Despite its vast importance in the human body, most people don't receive enough."

Vitamin D deficiency can manifest itself in a variety of different forms, depending on a person's genetic makeup. It can result in impaired bone mineralization, and leads to bone softening diseases like rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, and is a possible contributor to osteoporosis.

Although many are familiar with the importance of Vitamin D in bones, evidence shows that Vitamin D may be associated with diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, infectious diseases, and even cancer.

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists