Low circulating vitamin D levels tied to risk of cardiovascular disease: Study
Australia: A recent study has found that low levels of circulating vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence events and recurrent CVD events. The study appears in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
"Our findings are valuable for understanding the vitamin D-CVD relationship as in the study, CVD outcomes were examined as fatal, non-fatal/recurrent, and combined (fatal and non-fatal/ recurrent) events," Rati Jani, Faculty of Health, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Canberra, Australia, and the team wrote in their study.
Previous studies have shown a link between circulating vitamin D and the risk of CVD. However, no meta-analysis has yet explored the correlation between vitamin D and the risk of CVD incidence and recurrent CVD. Considering this, Dr. Jani and the colleagues aimed to examine the association between 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) and the risk of CVD incidence (fatal, non-fatal, fatal, and non-fatal combined events) and the risk of recurrent CVD (fatal, recurrent, and fatal and recurrent combined events).
The meta-analysis included a total of 79 studies (46 713 CVD cases in 1 397 831 participants), of which 61 studies examined the risk of CVD incidence events, and 18 studies examined the risk of recurrent CVD events.
Following were the study's key findings:
- Low 25(OH)D was associated with 34% and 86% higher risk of CVD incidence and recurrent CVD events.
- Low 25(OH)D may have more (86% vs 34%) detrimental outcomes on the risk of recurrent CVD event than CVD incidence event.
- Every 10 ng/ml increment of 25(OH)D was associated with a 6% lower risk of non-fatal CVD incidence event.
- Every 10 ng/ml increment of 25(OH)D was associated with a 55% reduction in the risk of recurrent fatal CVD events.
- Every 10 ng/ml increment of 25(OH)D was associated with a 20% reduction in the risk of recurrent combined CVD event.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the association between 25(OH)D and the risk of both CVD incidence events and the risk of recurrent CVD events," the authors wrote.
"The lowest category of circulating 25(OH)D was shown to be associated with a higher risk of CVD incidence events and recurrent CVD events," they concluded.
Reference:
The study titled, "Circulating 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies," was published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
