University of Calgary researchers to look at aging brain as study says vitamin D prevents dementia

The study by the University of Calgary will run for 20 years, and he said people from all areas and backgrounds can join at any time.

Researchers at the University of Calgary are starting a national project to try to get more insight into the brain as people age.

The CAN-PROTECT project, led by Dr. Zahinoor Ismail, begins Wednesday — the same day that a new paper he co-authored shows taking vitamin D could help prevent dementia.

“We compared older adults who were on vitamin D to those who were not on vitamin D over 10 years for the rate of development of dementia,” said Ismail, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the U of C and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

The 12,000 participants in the study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, were part of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center in the United States. They had an average age of 71 and didn’t have dementia when they signed up for it. About 37 per cent of those involved took vitamin D supplements.

“What we found was that persons who were taking vitamin D at baseline compared to those who took no vitamin D over that time developed dementia probably at a 40 per cent lower rate, so it’s quite a significant association,” Ismail said in an interview.

Researchers also found the effects were greater in women than men and in those with normal cognition than those with mild cognitive impairment, which is associated with a higher risk of getting dementia.

Ismail said that could suggest “the earlier you start, the more you can prevent progression.”

Ismail said he and others are now working to get Canadian-specific data through the national research project. It is modelled after an online platform called PROTECT, based at the University of Exeter, that asks annual questionnaires on detailed lifestyle factors combined with some cognitive testing to determine what keeps the brain sharp later in life.