Vitamin Information Center

Chronic kidney disease patients may see their risk of death drop by one quarter if they take a form of vitamin D, a new study says.

In a study of more than 1,400 people with chronic kidney disease, those that were taking the drug calcitriol, a form of activated vitamin D, had a 26 per cent reduction in their risk of death versus those who were not on the drug. Overall, the patients on calcitriol had their risk of either death or dialysis due to a loss of kidney function fall by 20 per cent.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

A healthy human body uses first the liver and then the kidneys to convert vitamin D obtained through diet and sunlight into an active form that the body can use. However, it is believed that patients with chronic kidney disease are unable to do complete the second step.

They are often prescribed activated vitamin D to help lower elevated levels of the parathyroid hormone, which can lead to a weakening of the bones. However, people with kidney disease often suffer from calcified, or stiff, blood vessels, which can lead to a host of cardiovascular problems. Vitamin D increases calcium levels in the blood, which doctors fear could exacerbate this problem.

“We did find that people who got the activated vitamin D drug did have a higher risk of having a high calcium level in the blood,” study author Dr. Bryan Kestenbaum of the University of Washington told Ctv.ca.

“But the overall amount of people that that happened to was relatively small, and the overall balance was that people who got the activated vitamin D drug survived longer.”

Kestenbaum speculated that vitamin D leads to decreased mortality rates because of its known ability to lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes and inflammation.

He said that the next step in this field of research would be to conduct randomized clinical trials to confirm vitamin D’s effect on survival rates among patients with kidney disease.

If Pune becomes a welcome addition to the list of those cities around the world that have been freed from Vitamin A deficiencies, it will have Vitamins Angels to thank for this achievement. Every person has a right to vital nutrition. That’s the motto of Vitamin Angels, an organization primarily based in Santa Barbara, California. Howard B Schiffer, an ad-executive-turned-good-samaritan founded Vitamin Angels. Often called the humanitarian arm of the natural products industry, Vitamin Angels has distributed more than three hundred and fifty million vitamins and other supplements to people in need in 82 countries around the world. Their program in and around Pune is part of Vitamin Angels’ Operation 20/20 global campaign to eradicate vitamin A deficiency on the planet by the year 2020.

The team from Vitamin Angels was in Pune last month. They were accompanied by Milind Shah, who runs the Vitamins Angels’ Operation 20/20 campaign in Pune and surrounding regions.

Currently reaching 70,000 children in this area, Vitamin Angels supply children with high dose Vitamin A and de-worming medicine two times per year - once every 6 months. The pills are generally given to the children in the first five years of their lives, the time when they are the most vulnerable. Vitamin A capsules were distributed along with de-worming tablets to prevent parasites consuming Vitamin A before the child could absorb it. Other than that, worm infections also have serious health repercussions for a growing child. “The result,” Schiffer says, “is a 23 per cent increase in their survival rates. Vitamin A programs also reduce clinic visits by 27 per cent and hospital visits by 38 per cent. So not only will this program stop the children from going blind due to Vitamin A deficiency but it will also improve their health by bolstering their immune system and at the same time, lower the burden on the public health care system.”

“The government in Pune has been supporting our Vitamin A / Childhood Blindness Prevention Campaign and held an event for us this year in Pune to applaud our efforts. This unique partnership between private enterprise, public institutions like the Ministry of Health, and non-government organizations, is showing India a new way to address the major health problems endemic around the country,” adds Schiffer.

Their partners in Pune are Milind Shah’s NGO, Deepak Shah’s Sakalp Foundation and the Municipal Government. Milind Shah says, “Vitamin A and de-worming distribution as part of Operation 20/20 is presently reaching 70,000 children in areas like Baramati, Jalgaon and areas that fall under the Pune Zilla Parishad. Every year we receive about 140,000 tablets from Vitamin Angels.”

Upon their visit here, Schiffer was awarded an appreciation award for his collaboration by the city government. Shah also added that Vitamin Angels plan to increase the number of tablets to five lakh in the coming year. Here in Pune, the distribution was also coordinated by Dr Rashmi Gapchup. Vitamin A is critical for vision, bone growth and normal bodily development and its deficiency does its worst damage during childhood and is a major contributor to child mortality and illness. The most commonly known effect of vitamin A deficiency is blindness. Vitamin A supplementation can reduce child mortality by as much as 23-24 per cent.

Vitamin Angels have been working in India since 1996 and this program has been running since 2004. “Our commitment, other than seeing the children every sixth months, is working with the government in Pune to address the other factors that will build long term health like clean water, sanitation, hygiene and sanitation,” says Schiffer. Pleased to be working in Pune, what motivates Schiffer the most is helping the children have a better chance at a healthier life.

“Vitamin Angels always feels that India has some of the largest problems and the biggest challenges in the world (distribution logistics, corruption, geography, population, etc). We know that if we can make a program work in India, we can easily scale it up anywhere else in the world. Our Operation 20/20 campaign which is now operating in 17 countries around the world and reaching 7.5 million children was modeled after the India Vitamin A / Childhood Blindness Prevention Campaign. Vitamin Angels is now reaching 1.1 million children, nursing moms and babies in India,” he concludes with satisfaction.