Vitamin-D supplementation to improve cardiovascular health: VITAL Trial

Vitamin- D a vital hormone, is a very important for maintaining a health and its benefits have been reported in many studies. Recent reports say Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to high blood pressure. And some research shows that taking a vitamin D pill can help to lower it, which lowers the risk of heart attacks and stroke, however the trial proves otherwise.

The VITAL trial showed that supplementation with either n–3 fatty acid at a dose of 1 g/day or vitamin D3 at a dose of 2000 IU/day was not effective for primary prevention of Cardiovascular or cancer events among healthy middle-aged men and women over 5 years of follow-up.

The findings of the trial are published in journal American College of Cardiology.

Study included healthy participants that were randomized in a 1:1 fashion out of which 12,927 were assigned to vitamin D3 (at a dose of 2000 IU per day) and 12,944 to placebo or n–3 fatty acids (1 g per day as a fish-oil capsule containing 840 mg of n–3 fatty acids, including 460 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and 380 mg of docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]).

The primary outcome of Cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke, for vitamin D3 vs. placebo, was 3.1% vs. 3.2% and 3.0% vs. 3.2%. Secondary outcomes for n–3 fatty acid vs. placebo, for Total coronary heart disease: 0.3% vs. 0.4% All-cause mortality: 3.8% vs. 3.7%.

The results of this trial indicated that supplementation with either n–3 fatty acid at a dose of 1 g/day or vitamin D3 at a dose of 2000 IU/day was not effective for primary prevention of CV or cancer events among healthy middle-aged men and women over 5 years of follow-up Being one of the largest trials on this topic. The finding of a lower MI risk with n–3 fatty acid is hypothesis generating and deserves further study. The authors also noted some interaction with baseline fish consumption, with greater CV benefit observed among participants who had low fish intake at baseline.

Reference: https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/clinical-trials/2018/11/08/22/42/vital