foodconsumer.org: Low vitamin D linked to higher risk of premature death from all causes

Low vitamin D linked to higher risk of premature death from all causes
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admin on 07/28/2008 01:45:00
 
SUNDAY July 26, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study has found that low serum
levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D are independently
associated with all causes of cardiovascular mortality.
Previous studies found low serum levels of vitamin D or exactly
25-hydroxyvitamin D were linked with higher incidences of cardiovascular risk
factors and disease.
25-hydroxyvitamin D is also known as vitamin D2; ergocalciferol or calciferol is
the form of vitamin D tested to evaluate one’s vitamin D status.   In the
kidney, 25-hydroxyvitamin D changes into 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, an active form
of vitamin D.
In the study, Harald Dobnig, MD and colleagues from Medical University of Graz,
Austria and other organizations followed 3258 male and female patients at an
average age of 62 who were scheduled for coronary angiography.
The study subjects were divided into quartiles based on 25-hydroxyvitamin D and
1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels within each month of blood drawings.   During
the 7.7-year follow-up, 737 patients or 22.6 percent died, of whom 463 died from
cardiovascular causes.
Dobnig and colleagues found low serum vitamin D levels were inversely correlated
to higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.   The lower two
25-hydroxyvitamin D quartiles (7.6 and 13.3 ng/mL) were 2.08 times and 1.53
times more likely to die from all causes respectively than those in the highest
25-hydroxyvitamin D quartile (28.4 ng/mL).
The increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was similar. Those who
were in the lower two quartiles were 2.22 times and 1.82 times more likely to
die respectively than those who were in the highest quartile.
The associations between 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D and the higher risk of
all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were similar.
The associations were independent of coronary artery disease, physical activity,
and other possible factors.
The researchers also found that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were
significantly linked to variables of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and
interleukkin 6 levels, oxidative burden, and cell adhesion.
Dobnig and colleagues concluded that "Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,
25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels are independently associated with all-cause and
cardiovascular mortality."
The study was published in The Archives of Internal Medicine: Vol. 168 No. 12,
June 23, 2008.
By Sue Mueller, and edited by Heather Kelley.
Jul 27, 2008 - 9:13:38 AM