Study reveals effects of vitamin D on heart

AUSTRALIA: Vitamin D insufficiency had been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The burden of CVD could be mitigated if low vitamin D levels were corrected across the populace.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the top causes of death around the world. Every year, an estimated 17.9 million individuals die due to heart disease complications around the world. To put this in perspective, CVDs account for 32 per cent of all fatalities worldwide.

Between March 13, 2006, and October 1, 2009, individuals were recruited from 22 assessment centres around the United Kingdom. At the start of the study, they filled out questionnaires about their health and lifestyle and blood samples for biomarker and genetic assays.

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The current research was carried out under the UK Biobank application number 20175. The National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care and the North West Multicentre Research Ethical Committee (11/NW/0382) extended their approval to the UK Biobank study. All of the subjects gave their informed consent to participate in the study.

The study's data analysis was limited to unrelated people who were identified as white British by self-report and DNA profiling. 

In addition, those having conflicting information between self-reported and genetic sex were eliminated.

Lead author Prof. Elina Hyppönen, Director, Australian Centre for Precision Health, University of South Australia, outlined the research findings. 

Using a large prospective cohort, researchers demonstrated genetic evidence for an L-shaped connection of 25(OH)D with CVD risk with higher CVD risk mostly limited to people with low vitamin D status. While boosting vitamin D status among those with the lowest levels seems expected to have the most significant impact, a population-wide effort to eradicate vitamin D insufficiency could help to alleviate CVDs.

The research titled "Non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses support a role for vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease risk" has been published in the European Heart Journal