Impact of vitamin D insufficiency on cardiac function in patients with systemic sclerosis

This is a commentary on a recent research paper about the link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular compromise in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. The study is a sound report and contributes significantly to knowledge about the cardiovascular impact of vitamin D deficiency. Strengths are adherence to ethical and diagnostic guidelines throughout, thorough cardiopulmonary characterization, and complete data acquisition. However, the absence of dietary and adiposity data (for example, energy intake), the possibility of a selection bias, as well as assumptions on parametrization for categorical variables could all introduce some limitations to our findings.Nevertheless, despite these limitations, the study indeed adds significant value to our knowledge on how vitamin D status interplays with cardiac remodeling amongst individuals with SSc and highlights the need for more mechanistic/intervention work.