Vitamin D Deficiency and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

ABSTRACT Background—Vitamin D receptors have a broad tissue distribution that includes vascular smooth muscle, endothelium, and cardiomyocytes. A growing body of evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency may adversely affect the cardiovascular system, but data from longitudinal studies are lacking. Methods and Results—We studied 1739 Framingham Offspring Study participants (mean age 59 years; 55% women; all white) without prior cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D status was assessed by measuring 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) levels. Prespecified thresholds were used to characterize varying degrees of 25-OH D deficiency (Conclusions—Vitamin D deficiency is associated with incident cardiovascular disease. Further clinical and experimental studies may be warranted to determine whether correction of vitamin D deficiency could contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. From the Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, Mass (T.J.W., M.J.P., E.I., K.L., E.J.B., R.B.D., R.S.V.); Cardiology Division (T.J.W.) and Renal Division (M.W.), Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; Statistics and Consulting Unit, Department of Mathematics (M.J.P., R.B.D.), Boston University, Boston, Mass; Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (S.L.B., P.F.J.), Tufts University, Boston, Mass; and Sections of Cardiology and Preventive Medicine (E.J.B., R.S.V.), Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass. Circulation. 2008 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.706127 FOR FULL TEXT PDF click on the link below: