Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Cardiovascular Disease

Has also been linked to insulin resistance

15 dec 2008-- Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease, according to a study in the Dec. 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. A related review in the Dec. 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology discusses the links between vitamin D deficiency, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

In the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, Dae Hyun Kim, M.D., and colleagues from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, analyzed data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cardiovascular disease in 8,351 U.S. adults. They found that the overall prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (less than 30 ng/mL) was 74 percent. There was a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease, with decreasing vitamin D levels.

In the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, John H. Lee, M.D., from the Mid America Heart Institute and University of Missouri in Kansas City, and colleagues reviewed the data on vitamin D deficiency and supplementation. They note that low serum vitamin D has been adversely linked to cardiovascular health, possibly because vitamin D deficiency activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Vitamin D deficiency also activates parathyroid hormone, which increases insulin resistance and has been linked to diabetes, hypertension, inflammation and higher cardiovascular risk.

"Vitamin D supplementation is simple, safe and inexpensive," Lee and colleagues write. "Monitoring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and correction of vitamin D deficiency is indicated for optimization of musculoskeletal and general health."

One of the authors of the second study is a consultant for the National Dairy Council and the UV Foundation, and another is an unpaid scientific consultant to CardioTabs.