High Vitamin D Doses Fail to Lower Heart Biomarkers in Older Adults, reveals research
Researchers have found that high dose vitamin D3 supplementation does not significantly affect the heart health markers in the elderly people with low serum vitamin D. The STURDY trial performed in the United States, aimed at finding whether higher doses of vitamin D3 would reduce levels of cardiac biomarkers associated with subclinical heart disease. The study was conducted by Rainer and colleagues and was published in American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk for various diseases, including cardiovascular disease. The role of vitamin D in modulating inflammation and vascular health may further implicate this nutrient in influencing heart disease, especially among older adults. Therefore, the STURDY trial was undertaken to establish if supplementation with vitamin D might have an impact on cardiac biomarkers among those who are vitamin D deficient and at an increased risk of cardiovascular events.
The STURDY trial involved 688 older adults, aged 70 and above, who were then screened with a baseline level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D at 10 and 29 ng/mL. The study randomized these volunteers into one of the dosages: 200, 1000, 2000, or 4000 IU per day of vitamin D3, using a reference dosage of 200 IU/day. Hs-cTnI and NT-proBNP were both measured at baseline and subsequently at 3, 12, and 24 months. They utilized mixed-effects tobit models to assess whether there was a dose-dependent effect of vitamin D3 on these cardiac biomarkers, following participants up to 24 months or until the end of the trial.
• Higher doses of vitamin D3 supplementation had no significant effect on hs-cTnI levels in comparison to the low-dose group, with a difference of 1.6% (95% CI, −5.3 to 8.9).
• The NT-proBNP levels were not different between high- and low-dose groups, with a difference of −1.8% (95% CI, −9.3 to 6.3).
• In all groups, biomarkers increased during the study; hs-cTnI increased by 5.2% in the low and 7.0 % in the high dose treatment group. NT-pro BNP increased by 11.3% in low-dose and 9.3% in the high-dose group.These findings may suggest that whereas vitamin D3 supplementation generally might help this population have good general health, studied supplementation may not lower any of the above-specific subclinical heart disease markers of the elderly.
• The findings of the STURDY trial suggest that there is no decrease in levels of hs-cTnI and NT-proBNP with higher doses of vitamin D3 supplementation, indicating there is little cardiovascular benefit in lowering subclinical heart disease markers in older adults with low vitamin D levels.
Reference:
Rainer, K. W., Earle, W., Michos, E. D., Miller, E. R., 3rd, Wanigatunga, A. A., Rebuck, H., Christensen, R., Schrack, J. A., Mitchell, C. M., Kalyani, R. R., Appel, L. J., & Juraschek, S. P. (2024). Effects of vitamin D supplementation on cardiac biomarkers: Results from the STURDY trial. American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 20(100871), 100871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpc.2024.100871
