A new study carried out by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in United States , has revealed a possible effect of the lack of vitamin D in the body. Specifically, they determine that this phenomenon could trigger an increased risk of addiction to opioids .
Thus, the conclusions of the study suggest that Addressing the problem of vitamin D deficiency in society with s u economic supplements could help to address the current addiction to opioids, especially in the United States.
This study is based on previous research conducted in the year 2007, which led to the hypothesis that the search for the sun by humans is related to vitamin D deficiency.
It would be as a way to increase the synthesis of the hormone in search of survival since ancient times. In addition, this same hypothesis suggested that the lack of this micronutrient could cause the body to be more sensitive to the effects of opioids, contributing to opioid addiction.
Behavior of vitamin D
Dr. Laios V. Kemny, researcher at Dermatology at MGH , explains that our objective in this study was to understand the relationship between vitamin D signaling in the body and UV and opioid-seeking behaviors.
To carry out this study, they used several perspectives in which they compared normal laboratory mice with other mice that were vitamin D deficient.
Kemny points out that we discovered that the modulation of vitamin D levels modifies multiple addictive behaviors both to UV rays and to opioids.
The most revealing thing is that reached a point the researchers conditioned the mice with modest doses of morphine. When morphine was withdrawn, vitamin D-deficient mice were more likely to develop withdrawal symptoms.
Therefore, the findings of this research work suggest that vitamin D deficiency D increases addictive behavior, which was supported by several adjunct reviews of human health records.
Specifically, these supplemental tests showed that people with low vitamin D levels had a
% more likely to consume opiums compared to others people with normal values of this micronutrient. For those severe deficits with, the risk increased up to 90 %.
One of the main authors highlights that our results suggest that we may have an opportunity in the field of public health to influence the opioid epidemic.
In this sense, they suggest that a treatment for a lack of vitamin D could offer a new way to reduce the risk of OUD and increase the existing treatments against this type of disorders.
What are opioids?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse of the United States defines opioids as a class of drugs that includes the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl or different painkillers that citizens can legally access with a prescription such as codeine, morphine or oxicodiana, among others.