A shortage of vitamin D may be linked to an increased risk of stroke, according to research published in the journal Stroke.

Stroke patients often suffer a number of vitamin D deficiency-related symptoms such as a lowering of bone mineral density, changes in calcium homeostasis, and an increase in hip fractures. Vitamin D deficiency has already been associated with stroke and hip fractures.

The researchers measured vitamin D serum levels, every 2 months for 1 year, in 44 patients admitted to an acute stroke unit with those of 96 healthyelderly subjects. The stroke patients included in the study had not previously suffered from a stroke.

It was discovered that 77 percent of the stroke patients were deficient in vitamin D throughout the year. The researchers suggested that this deficiency may have preceded the occurrence of stroke.

According to the researchers, “Vitamin D is a potential risk marker for stroke, and the role of vitamin D repletion in enhancing musculoskeletal health after stroke needs to be explored.”