Studies Continue to Find Reductions in Premature Mortality in Association with Vitamin D Status

Recently reported study findings affirmed a link between adding vitamin D to the diet and a reduction in mortality during follow-up. In one study, aging-related illnesses were reduced in vitamin D users as well as in people who had sufficient blood levels of vitamin D.^1,2

In the first investigation, researchers examined the health records of groups of adults in Israel and the United States. The investigators matched 12,352 Israeli adults who had severely deficient serum vitamin D levels of less than 10 ng/mL with an equal number of Israeli men and women who had sufficient levels of 30 ng/mL or higher. Similarly, 223,175 adults in the US group who had vitamin D levels indicative of severe deficiency were matched for age and other factors with an equal number of men and women with sufficient vitamin D. For Israeli as well as US groups, severe vitamin D deficiency at the beginning of the study period was associated with greater odds of cardiovascular and diabetes-related complications such as heart attack and dementia compared with having sufficient levels of vitamin D. During up to ten years of follow-up, having severely deficient vitamin D levels was associated with a greater incidence of chronic conditions and mortality. When the addition of vitamin D to the diet was examined, it was found to be dose-dependently associated with reductions in mortality, diabetes and heart attack.

The second study evaluated the association between receiving vitamin D within 48 hours of admission to a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) and the 28-day mortality rate. The study included 8,111 critically ill patients aged 65 years and older among whom 16.5% died within 28 days of admission. Vitamin D was received by 1,626 patients and 6,485 did not receive the vitamin. Patients who were given vitamin D experienced a 14.5% mortality rate, which is significantly lower than the 17.0% rate that occurred among those who were not given vitamin D.

These recent studies once again add evidence to the association between consuming vitamin D or having sufficient blood vitamin D levels and a reduced occurrence of chronic illness and premature mortality.

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Apply What You’ve Learned: Vitamin D

Because vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency are common,⁵ a blood test for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels should be part of anyone's annual lab work. For optimal vitamin D status, Life Extension suggests maintaining a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of between 50 and 80 ng/mL.
Despite so many people being aware of the importance of "the sunshine vitamin," many individuals still remain deficient in this critical nutrient. Bone, immune, metabolic, cardiovascular and cognitive health are supported in part by vitamin D.^3,4
Although exposure to the ultraviolet B rays of sunlight will increase vitamin D in the body, using tanning beds or spending extended time exposed to sunlight without sunscreen or protective clothing are not safe long-term methods to improve the body's level of vitamin D.
Good sources of vitamin D are fatty fish such as trout, salmon and mackerel, cod liver oil, egg yolk and liver; however, dietary sources of the vitamin are not likely to be sufficient to replenish vitamin D in people who are deficient.³ Vitamin D capsules, tablets, liquid drops or gummies are often used successfully to boost blood levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D3 has greater potency to increase serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D than vitamin D2.⁶

References

Israel A, Weizman A, Israel S, et al. Vitamin D deficiency, supplementation, and aging-related morbidity and mortality across two longitudinal population cohorts. Aging Cell. 2026 Oct;25(10):e70752.
Tian Z, Liu Y, Zhou Y, et al. Association between vitamin D supplementation and mortality in elderly critically ill patients: a retrospective propensity score–matched cohort study. Front Nutr. 2026 Sep 17:13:1932001.
Virtanen JK. Vitamin D: physiology, pharmacology and clinical evidence for supplementation—a narrative review. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2026 Nov;139(5):e70315.
Behrouzi R, Shahinfar H, Jazayeri S. Effects of vitamin D supplementation on cognitive function in older adults: a grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) methodology-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Nutr Rev. 2026 May 8:nuaf284.
Cui A, Zhang T, Xiao P, et al. Global and regional prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in population-based studies from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 7.9 million participants. Front Nutr. 2023 Mar 17:10:1070808.
Fleet JC. Differences in the absorption and metabolism of vitamin D2, vitamin D3, and 25 hydroxyvitamin D. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2025 May:249:106718.