Vitamin D deficiency is associated with dyslipidemia: a cross-sectional study in 3788 subjects

Previously we reported on severe vitamin D deficiency in a large-scale cohort in the Tangshan area in northern China. However, whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular risk factors has not been systematically examined in the cohort.

We aimed to determine the correlation between serum vitamin D status and lipid levels in circulation via an observational study.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) was measured. Based on the measurement subjects were classified into quintiles. Dyslipidemia was defined as having one of the following: elevated serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides or decreased HDL cholesterol, under lipid-control treatment.

The study was conducted in a total of 3788 adults in northern China during their routine health examinations. When the highest quintile of the 25(OH)D level was set as reference, the risk of having dyslipidemia increased progressively across the highest to the lowest 25(OH)D with ORs of 1 (reference), 1.232 (95% CI, 1.005-1.509), 1.235 (95% CI, 1.007-1.513), 1.403 (95% CI, 1.143-1.735) and 1.494 (95% CI, 1.217-1.833), respectively (P_trend < .0001) after adjustment for age. This trend was unchanged after further adjustment for several potential confounders. In linear regression analysis, we found an inverse significant correlation between 25(OH)D and triglycerides (β coefficient = -0.077, p < .05) and LDL cholesterol (β coefficient = -0.245, p < .05), and positive correlation with HDL cholesterol (β coefficient = 0.038, p = .018).

Vitamin D deficiency is found to be associated with dyslipidemia in a cohort of 3788 subjects. Specifically, serum 25(OH)D is inversely correlated with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels, and positively correlated with HDL cholesterol level.