Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence

At a Glance: In a large sample of U.S. adults, new research indicates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

Read more about this study below.

Inadequate vitamin D levels are known to be associated with certain cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, but until recently the association between vitamin D levels and the prevalence of CVD had not been comprehensively examined in the general U.S. population.

In a recent study published in Atherosclerosis, researchers examined data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a population-based sample of more than 16,000 U.S. adults.

In the total survey population, 1,308 subjects had some form of CVD. Using the standard definition of vitamin D deficiency (a serum level below 20 ng/mL), participants with CVD had a higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency (29.3%) than those without CVD (21.4%). After adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, season of measurement, physical activity, body mass index, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, and vitamin D use, the researchers showed that subjects deficient in vitamin D had a 20% increased risk of CVD.

The results of this analysis indicate a significant relationship between vitamin D deficiency and CVD prevalence in a large, highly representative sample of the U.S. adult population.

Atherosclerosis 2009 Jul; 205(1):255-60. 

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