Vit D supplementation reduces deaths in healthy adults.

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Here is another good reason to boost Vit D levels even if you don't

have PSC. In this meta analysis of healthy adults taking Vit D

suppliments compared to placebo, suppliments reduced deaths. This has

never been shown for any other vitamin. Since Vit D requires bile

for absorbtion almost all PSC patients have very low levels and high

doses are needed to overcome the lack of bile.

Vitamin D Supplementation and Total Mortality

A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Philippe Autier, MD; Sara Gandini, PhD

Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1730-1737.

Background Ecological and observational studies suggest that low

vitamin D status could be associated with higher mortality from life-

threatening conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and

diabetes mellitus that account for 60% to 70% of total mortality in

high-income countries. We examined the risk of dying from any cause

in subjects who participated in randomized trials testing the impact

of vitamin D supplementation (ergocalciferol [vitamin D2] or

cholecalciferol [vitamin D3]) on any health condition.

Methods The literature up to November 2006 was searched without

language restriction using the following databases: PubMed, ISI Web

of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded), EMBASE, and the

Cochrane Library.

Results We identified 18 independent randomized controlled trials,

including 57 311 participants. A total of 4777 deaths from any cause

occurred during a trial size–adjusted mean of 5.7 years. Daily doses

of vitamin D supplements varied from 300 to 2000 IU. The trial size–

adjusted mean daily vitamin D dose was 528 IU. In 9 trials, there was

a 1.4- to 5.2-fold difference in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D between

the intervention and control groups. The summary relative risk for

mortality from any cause was 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-

0.99). There was neither indication for heterogeneity nor indication

for publication biases. The summary relative risk did not change

according to the addition of calcium supplements in the intervention.

Conclusions Intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements seems

to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates. The

relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose of vitamin D

supplements, and total mortality rates remains to be investigated.

Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials with total

mortality as the main end point should be organized for confirming

these findings.