Tuesday Sep 9, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new Chinese study suggests vitamin D deficiency can put patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at risk for carotid atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, the most common cause for heart disease, is the hardening and thickening of the artery walls resulting from a buildup of biomass like white blood cells, fats, and cholesterol in the form of plaques.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients are known to be at higher risk for artery-related heart complications such as hypertension and stroke.  An estimated 65% of  diabetics die from heart disease or stroke.

Previous studies have already shown that vitamin D can directly prevent plaque formation and reduce blood pressure.   The current study of 350 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus found patients with carotid plaques had significantly lower vitamin D in their blood than those without carotid plaques.

The researchers also measured carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in the patients to determine whether vitamin D levels may play a role and found the carotid IMT and carotid plaques higher in those diabetics with the lower vitamin D levels.  IMT is used to both diagnose and track the progression of atherosclerosis. (David Liu, PHD)