Vitamin D Reduces Heart Disease Risk Factors

VITAMIN D REDUCES HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS

By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, February 18, 2010, abstracted from “Levels of vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis” in the 2010 issue of Maturitas

The term "cardiometabolic disorders" has recently been coined to encompass three different diseases: cardiovascular disease (costing $475.3 billion per year to treat) (1), type 2 diabetes (costing $174 billion) (2), and metabolic syndrome, which affects 1 in 4 Americans, increases medical costs per patient by 20% (3), and is "the costliest condition you've never heard of" (4)).

With a total cost to our healthcare system of nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars per year, it is paramount to find ways to decrease risk factors for cardiometabolic disorders. Now a new study (5) has found that keeping vitamin D bloods at healthy levels can significantly improve heart health.

In the study, researchers conducted a review of published medical literature concerning vitamin D blood levels and the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. They identified 28 studies consisting of 99,745 patients. They found that vitamin D plays a significant role in heart health. The highest blood levels of vitamin D (more than 29.2 nanograms/millilter) were shown to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors by 43%, compared to the lowest vitamin D blood levels (less than 17.8 ng/mL). When they separated the risk reductions by each condition, it translated to a 33% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, 55% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, and 51% reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.

When attempting to explain the health-promoting effects of vitamin D, the researchers pointed to how "low levels of vitamin D may result in higher vascular calcification", how vitamin D can help maintain healthy levels of inflammation by controlling levels of proteins called
cytokines, and how vitamin D can help maintain healthy blood pressure levels (6).

The researchers concluded that "High levels of vitamin D among middle-age and elderly populations are associated with a substantial decrease in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome". They then recommended that "If the relationship proves to be causal, interventions targeting vitamin D deficiency in adult populations could potentially slow the current epidemics of cardiometabolic disorders."

When it comes to vitamin D supplementation to produce optimal vitamin D blood levels, previous research has suggested it would between 2,000 and 4,000 IU/day since 2,000 IU/day produces vitamin D blood levels of 20 ng/mL and 4,000 IU/day produces levels of 40 ng/mL) (7).

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:[email protected] or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

Reference:

1. “Cardiovascular Disease Cost” posted on http://www.americanheart.org/presen...identifier=4475
2. “Number of People with Diabetes Continues to Increase” from the CDC Website www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesFactSheet/
3. Curtis LH. Costs of the Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Individuals Findings from the Cardiovascular Health Study. Diabetes Care October 2007 vol. 30 no. 10 2553-2558
4. “The Costliest Condition You’ve Never Heard Of” posted on http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/24042.php
5. Parker J. Levels of vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas 2010; 65(3): 225-236
6. E. Giovannucci, Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease, Curr Atheroscler Rep 2009; 11: 456–461
7. Garland CF. Symposium in Print on the Epidemiology of Vitamin D and Cancer. Annals of Epidemiology. In Press Corrected Proof , Available online 03 April 2009 DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.02.002