This subject along with many others are quite common.
‘An Exciting New Approach’
Serum 25(OH)D levels are an established marker for vitamin D status. To test their hypothesis, the researchers employed a specific analytical method to analyze data from UK Biobank — a large prospective cohort study of the United Kingdom’s population aged 37–73 years. They filled out questionnaires providing broad information on health and lifestyle at baseline and provided blood samples for biomarker and genetic assays.
Additionally, the team excluded participants with mismatched information between self-reported and genetic sex. After filtering, the research team conducted genetic assays among individuals with complete information on 25(OH)D concentrations. As a safety measure, they also collected variables — including age, sex, and time of sample collection — that could affect serum 25(OH)D measurements.
The scientists collected this information from up to 295,788 participants.
What Do The Results Say?
The research team also conducted a secondary analysis to examine the association of 25(OH)D concentration levels with blood pressure. Further analysis revealed that the individuals with serum 25(OH)D at 25 nmol/l had 11% higher risk of CVD than those with concentrations of 50 nmol/l.
At 25 nmol/l, there was a noticeable increase in blood pressure values when compared with 50 nmol/l. The findings led the scientists to conclude that vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of CVD. He observed that there has long been confusion as to whether to check vitamin D levels when assessing cardiovascular risk and what to do with the information after obtaining the results, “[However, now], this study establishes that it is worthwhile to check vitamin D levels for the purpose of assessing cardiovascular risk and, moreover, supplementing vitamin D for those who are most deficient.”.
Essential For Bone Health
’t improve cardiovascular health, but it can strengthen bones and improve overall health. Getty Images
The benefits of regular vitamin D consumption has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research has concluded that a lower risk of heart disease isn’t among the vitamin’s many benefits.
However, experts who spoke to Healthline emphasize the vitamin is still an essential part of a healthy diet. Vitamin D provides a broad range of benefits including building healthy bones, regulating sugar metabolism, and maintaining a healthy brain and nervous system. This type of study is called a meta-analysis, a research method that can provide a more precise estimate of the effect of a treatment or risk factor for disease than any individual study.
“This is why we decided to conduct a meta-analysis with enough power to clarify if vitamin D does or does not have a protective effect on cardiovascular health,” he added. After analyzing the data from previous studies, the research team’s results “showed no cardiovascular and mortality benefit of vitamin D that contradict the general prevalent concept from previous research,” Barbarawi said. Sreenivas Gudimetla, MD, a cardiologist at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, agreed with the study’s conclusions.
Meet The Expert
Victoria Taylor is a registered dietitian with more than 20 years’ experience. Her work for the NHS focused on weight management and community programmes for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.