{"id":57547,"date":"2019-02-26T14:41:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-26T09:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=57547"},"modified":"2022-03-23T16:20:25","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T10:50:25","slug":"hair-samples-can-used-measure-vitamin-d-human-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/lifestyle\/hair-samples-can-used-measure-vitamin-d-human-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Hair samples can be used to measure vitamin D in human body"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Scientists have discovered for the first time that vitamin D can be measured in human hair, paving the way for non-invasively testing deficiency of the ‘sunshine vitamin’.<\/p>\n
Vitamin D deficiency has reached epidemic proportions world-wide, with over one billion people estimated to be affected. Deficiency has been linked with bone health, but it could also be a risk factor for depression, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, diabetes and cancer.<\/p>\n
At present, the best way of assessing vitamin D is to measure the concentration of vitamin D in the blood.<\/p>\n
However, this can be painful, requires expertise and training along with hygienic conditions and equipment so getting a sample is not always workable.<\/p>\n
The study, published in the journal Nutrients, is a major step forward in assessing vitamin D status, researchers said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“This study presents the first step towards the development of a novel test for assessing vitamin D status over time,” said Lina Zgaga, from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.<\/p>\n
“The idea is that vitamin D is being deposited continuously in the hair as it grows; more might be deposited at times when vitamin D concentration in the blood is high, and less when it’s low,” Zgaga said.<\/p>\n
“Therefore, test based on the hair sample might be able to give doctors a measure of vitamin D status over time \u2014 if hair is long enough, this even might be over a few years,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Further research is needed to establish the exact relationship between vitamin D concentration in the blood and in hair over time,” she added.<\/p>\n
“We also need to investigate different factors that might affect vitamin D levels in hair, the most obvious ones being hair colour and thickness, or use of hair products such as hair dye,” Zgaga said.<\/p>\n
Other applications could also include historical samples from archaeological sites. Hair, along with teeth, is some of the longest lasting surviving biological materials after death.<\/p>\n
“It could be possible to for the first time to assess the vitamin D status of historical populations \u2014 Elizabethans, Viking, Celtic, Roman, ancient Chinese, Egyptian,” said Eamon Laird, from Trinity College Dublin.<\/p>\n
The presence of vitamin D in hair could be interpreted as a personal record of a person’s vitamin D status, research said.<\/p>\n
(Inputs from media reports)<\/p>\n