Age-Related Diseases Could be Accelerated by Vitamin Deficiency
Lee Swanson Research Update
A new analysis says that current recommendations for vitamin K are not being met, placing people at increased risk of age-related diseases like cancer and heart disease.
The analysis of data from hundreds of published articles dating back to the 1970s, conducted by Joyce McCann, PhD and Bruce Ames, PhD from Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, also suggests that current recommendations for vitamin K intake need to be increased to ensure optimal health.
Current recommendations are based on levels to ensure adequate blood coagulation, but failing to ensure long-term optimal levels of the vitamin may accelerate bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, strongly support Dr. Ames’ triage theory, first presented in 2006.
The theory may have important implications for determining the optimum intake of all vitamins and minerals, as well as major implications for preventive medicine.
"Encouraging support for the triage theory from our vitamin K analysis suggests that experts aiming to set micronutrient intake recommendations for optimal function and scientists seeking mechanistic triggers leading to diseases of ageing may find it productive to focus on micronutrient-dependent functions that have escaped evolutionary protection from deficiency," said Dr. McCann.
Dr. Ames first proposed his triage theory in 2006 to explain why age-related diseases like heart disease, cancer and dementia may be unintended consequences of mechanisms developed by the body to protect against episodic vitamin/mineral shortages.
Since the theory of natural selection favors short-term survival over long-term health, Dr. Ames hypothesized that this short-term survival was achieved by prioritizing the allocation of these scarce micronutrients.
"If this hypothesis is correct, micronutrient deficiencies that trigger the triage response would accelerate cancer, aging and neural decay but would leave critical metabolic functions, such as ATP production, intact," explained Dr. Ames.
Applying the theory to vitamin K, the researchers used mice with inactivated versions of the 16 known vitamin K-dependent proteins. They found that five of these proteins required for coagulation had critical functions, meaning that inactive forms were lethal.
On the other hand, five proteins were less critical, and the animals survived through weaning. However, genetic loss of these less critical vitamin K-dependent proteins, inadequate intakes of vitamin K1 from the diet, vitamin K deficiency and human polymorphisms or mutations were all associated with age-related conditions, including weaker bones and hardening of the arteries, which increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. An increase in the incidence of spontaneous cancer was also observed.
"A triage perspective reinforces recommendations of some experts that much of the population and warfarin/coumadin patients may not receive sufficient vitamin K for optimal function of vitamin K-dependent proteins that are important to maintain long-term health," wrote McCann and Ames. "If correct, the triage theory has widespread implications for public health because modest vitamin/mineral deficiencies are quite common," the researchers added.
"The theory also suggests a new scientifically based and consistent strategy for establishing optimal vitamin/mineral intake standards, and it provides a research strategy to uncover early biomarkers of chronic disease," they concluded.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Published online ahead of print.