A new health study shows a link between increased breast cancer risk and Vitamin D deficiency among Black and Hispanic women in the United States.
Researchers analyzed blood samples from 290 Black and 125 Hispanic women who were later diagnosed with breast cancer, as well as samples from 1,010 Black and 437 Hispanic women who did not develop breast cancer.
The researchers found that during an average follow-up of about 9.2 years, women with sufficient vitamin D levels had a 21% lower breast cancer rate than women with Vitamin D deficiency.
Black women with sufficient Vitamin D levels had an 11% lower rate of breast cancer. But the link was strongest with Hispanic women who had a 48% lower rate of breast cancer if they had sufficient Vitamin D levels, according to the study.
The study was published online Monday in the journal Cancer.
“Because women who identify as members of these groups have lower vitamin D levels, on average, than non-Hispanic white women, they could potentially receive enhanced health benefits from interventions promoting vitamin D intake,” Katie O’Brien, staff scientist at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said in a news release.
“However, questions remain about whether these associations are truly causal and, if so, what levels of vitamin D are most beneficial.”
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