Study: Vitamin D Deficiency Could Increase CV Risk by 35%

A recent study has identified precise levels of vitamin D deficiency that put an individual at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Previous studies have indicated that a lack of vitamin D is associated with weakened bones, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes, but the exact levels of deficiency associated with these risks have never been pinpointed.
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In their study, researchers followed over 230,000 participants for 3 years. Participants were divided into 4 groups based upon their vitamin D levels: <15 ng/mL, 15-29 ng/mL, 30-44 ng/mL, ≥45 ng/mL.

Overall, researchers found that patients with vitamin D levels less than 15 ng/mL were 35% more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events than those participants in the other 3 groups. Levels of risk observed in the remaining 3 groups were similar to one another.

“Even though there’s a possibility that patients may benefit in some way from achieving higher blood levels of vitamin D, this new information tells us the greatest benefit to the heart will likely occur among patients whose vitamin D level is below 15 ng/ml,” they concluded.

“As we continue to study vitamin D and the heart, we hope to ultimately gain enough information so we can inform all patients specifically what they should do to reduce their cardiac risk as much as possible.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:
American Heart Association. Researchers find link between specific vitamin D levels and heart problems [press release]. November 9, 2015. http://www.newswise.com/articles/researchers-find-link-between-specific-vitamin-d-levels-and-heart-problems.