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Vitamin D and cardiometabolic health: a review of the evidence
Nutrition Research Reviews, 05/17/2011
Review Article
Muldowney S et al. – Epidemiological associations are promising and a rationale for low vitamin D status as a potentially modifiable risk factor for CVD is supported by mechanistic data. This body of literature is too immature to draw firm conclusions on the role of vitamin D in CVD prevention.
- The cardiometabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of related metabolic abnormalities including abdominal adiposity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and increased inflammatory and thrombotic markers, which is linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, CVD and overall mortality.
- Several cross–sectional and prospective studies have shown an association between low vitamin D status, as indicated by concentrations of serum 25–hydroxyvitamin D (s25(OH)D), and increased prevalence of the MetS and individual CVD risk factors.
- These epidemiological observations are supported by mechanistic studies but experimental data are limited.
- The available data from intervention studies are largely confounded as most vitamin D supplementation trials were mainly carried out to explore the role of Ca in CVD and include Ca in the treatment arms.
- Inadequate consideration of seasonal effects on s25(OH)D concentrations is a common design flaw in most studies.
- Further complications arise from shared risk factors such as adiposity and ageing, which predispose individuals to exhibit both a more pronounced risk profile and relatively lower s25(OH)D concentrations.
