Vitamin D may slow kidney disease

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Low levels of vitamin D may account for nearly 60 percent of the elevated risk of end-stage renal disease in African Americans, U.S. researchers said.

Dr. Michal L. Melamed of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and colleagues analyzed a nationwide sample of 13,000 Americans, including measurements of the vitamin D metabolite 25(OH)D.

Medicare data were used to identify participants who eventually required dialysis therapy for end-stage renal disease.

"We found that the participants with the lowest 25(OH)D levels were 2.6 times as likely to end up on dialysis compared to those with higher levels," Melamed said in a statement.

African Americans have lower 25(OH)D levels and a higher risk of end-stage renal disease. "We found that 25(OH)D deficiency was responsible for about 58 percent of the excess risk for end-stage renal disease experienced by African-Americans," Melamed said.

Although it can't prove any cause-and-effect relationship, the study also suggests that vitamin D deficiency is a key contributor to the high-risk of end-stage renal disease in African-Americans.

More research is needed to confirm these findings, and to determine whether treatment to raise low vitamin D levels can help to preserve kidney function, the researchers said.