The Harvard-led Vitamin D and Omega 3 trial (VITAL) recently published findings showing a meaningful (22%) and statistically significant (p = 0.05, Hazard ratio = 0.78 95% CI = 0.61 – 0.99) reduction in the incidence of autoimmune disease in older adults taking 2000 IU (50 mcg) per day for 5 years.1 “P values” are an expression of the degree of probability that the results of an experiment testing a hypothesis are due to chance. Generally speaking, the lower the P value, the higher the reliability of the data.
This was a large nationwide study involving 12,786 men 50 years or older and 13,085 women 55 years or older. It was a randomized double blind, placebo-controlled trial. The British Medical Journal notes, “The clinical importance of this trial is high because these are well tolerated, non-toxic supplements, and other effective treatments to reduce the incidence of autoimmune diseases are lacking.” In 2017, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimated that 23.5 million Americans, >7% of the population, suffered from an autoimmune disease. The NIH noted that the prevalence appeared to be rising.2










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