Launch of IGS Position Paper on Vitamin D

16th September 2021
Online

Organised by: Irish Gerontological Society

Information: 

Launch of IGS Position Paper on Vitamin D

Thursday, September 16th 14.00-15.30

RCPI CPD approval Pending       

The Irish Gerontological Society is grateful to Galen Health for their support of this online event by means of an unrestricted educational grant

Introduction

While a low vitamin D state has been associated with an increased risk of infection by SARS-CoV2, in addition to an increased severity of Covid-19, a causal role for vitamin D in the disease process is not yet established.  In order to gain a greater understanding of the potential link, an Irish cross disciplinary collaboration began to collate data regarding Covid-19 and Vitamin D status in 2020. The group were invited by the Irish Gerontological Society to prepare a position paper in February 2021 and this symposium is focused on the launch of this position paper

Programme

Moderators:  Prof Rose Galvin & Prof Rose-Anne Kenny

Welcome Prof Rose Anne Kenny, President of the Irish Gerontological Society

Nutrition in Older Adults - Effects on Immunity against Covid-19     Dr Dan McCartney

Clinical Implications of Vitamin D Deficiency on the Immune System of Older Adults with particular emphasis on Covid-19  Prof John Faul

The Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in the Irish Population   Prof Bernard Walsh 

Panel Discussion with Q&A

Participants:

 

Dr Dan McCartney is a registered dietitian and Programme Director of the BSc in Human Nutrition & Dietetics Technological University Dublin. He has a partciular interest in the role of Vitamin D and risk of adverse outcomes for older adults who develop COVID. 

Prof John Faul is a Consultant Respiratory Physician RCSI and Connolly Hospital Dublin. He has published widely on the role of Vitamin D in respiratory conditions. He has a particular interest in sleep medicine, asthma and obesity. 

Prof Bernard Walsh founded the Mercer’s Institute’s Bone Health and Osteoporosis Unit in St James’s Hospital. He has extensive experience on the use of PTH as an anabolic treatment in patients with severe osteoporosis and has also taken a National and European lead in Vitamin D milk supplementation.

Moderators:

 

Professor Rose Anne Kenny holds the Chair of Medical Gerontology and is Head of the academic department of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. Previously Professor of Cardiovascular Research and head of geriatric medicine at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Rose Anne is now director of Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St. James’s Hospital Dublin.

Prof Rose Galvin is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy at the University of Limerick. She has a long-standing interest in applied health research in ageing, reflecting her professional background in physiotherapy and her post-doctoral training in applied clinical epidemiology. She is a recipient of a Health Research Board 2020 Research Leader Award and a founding member of the Ageing Research Centre at UL.

 

Event video