%0 Journal Article
%T The potential role of vitamin D for prevention and treatment of tuberculosis and infectious diseases
%A Dini
%A Catia
%A Bianchi
%A Antonio
%J Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanit¨¤
%D 2012
%I Kurtis srl
%R 10.4415/ANN_12_03_13
%X introduction: vitamin d deficiency (vdd) is a common condition among several populations in the world. vdd is associated with higher incidence of immune system disorders and faster progression of some infectious diseases. vitamin d is known to be of physiological importance, it is considered an essential micronutrient for the bone health and plays a beneficial role in the prevention and/or treatment of a number of chronic diseases. vitamin d has a complex action on the immune system. results: evidence that vitamin d protects against tuberculosis has been supported by in vitro, epidemiological and some preliminary clinical studies. vitamin d has a potential effect on hiv (human immunodeficiency virus) and plays a crucial role in the defence against respiratory infections. conclusions: vitamin d supplementation could be a low-cost, practical method to protect groups of people with high incidence of those diseases. public health education should stress the need for adequate dietary intake of vitamin d in those vulnerable groups.
%K vdd
%K vitamin d deficiency
%K tuberculosis
%K hiv
%K respiratory infections.
%U http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0021-25712012000300013&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en