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Vitamin d and cardiovascular disease
Jacqueline S Danik1, Joann E Manson
1Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 900 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA, jdanik@partners.org.
Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine
|June 13, 2012
Summary
Vitamin D supplementation
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Cardiovascular Health
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Vitamin D is investigated for its potential role in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Epidemiological studies link low vitamin D levels to increased risks of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the evidence for vitamin D's role in preventing cardiometabolic outcomes.
- To assess whether current evidence meets criteria for establishing a cause-and-effect relationship.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature and systematic reviews.
- Analysis of findings from the 2011 Institute of Medicine report and a 2009 AHRQ systematic review.
Main Results:
- The 2011 Institute of Medicine report found evidence for vitamin D preventing CVD and diabetes to be inconsistent and inconclusive.
- The evidence did not meet criteria for establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between vitamin D and cardiometabolic outcomes.
- A 2009 systematic review reached similar conclusions.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence is insufficient to establish a causal link between vitamin D and prevention of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.
- Further clinical trials are ongoing to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on non-skeletal outcomes.
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