Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among adults over the age of 65. At the same time, many seniors have low levels of Vitamin D in their blood, which has been linked to CVD.
However, despite this connection, previous studies have not shown that Vitamin D supplements effectively lower the risk of heart disease.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) recently examined whether taking higher doses of Vitamin D could reduce two specific proteins in the blood that indicate heart strain and damage.
Their findings, based on a high-quality, double-blind, randomized trial, suggest that higher doses of Vitamin D do not reduce heart disease risk in people with low Vitamin D levels.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, provides strong evidence against the idea that Vitamin D supplements can help prevent heart disease.
Dr. Katharine W. Rainer, the lead author and a resident physician at BIDMC, explained that while earlier observational studies had shown a relationship between low Vitamin D and higher cardiovascular risk, this trial decisively showed that Vitamin D did not impact markers of heart disease, even when taken in higher doses over a two-year period.
The researchers analyzed data from the “Study to Understand Fall Reduction and Vitamin D in You” (STURDY), which was designed to test how Vitamin D3 supplements affected fall risk in adults 70 and older who had low Vitamin D levels.
This National Institute of Aging-sponsored trial ran from 2015 to 2019, and participants were divided into four groups that received either 200, 1000, 2000, or 4000 international units (IU) of Vitamin D3 daily.
At the start of the study and at several points over the next two years, the researchers measured participants’ blood levels of two key proteins linked to heart disease.
While people with lower Vitamin D levels had higher levels of one of these proteins at the beginning, taking Vitamin D supplements did not lower these proteins over time, regardless of the dose.
The results were consistent across participants of different ages, sexes, races, and even those with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Dr. Stephen P. Juraschek, the study’s senior author and the research director of the Hypertension Center at BIDMC, noted that while low Vitamin D is associated with heart disease, the findings suggest that there may be other factors, such as outdoor physical activity, that play a bigger role in preventing heart disease.
In conclusion, while low Vitamin D levels are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, this study adds to the growing evidence that taking Vitamin D supplements does not reduce heart disease risk.
The researchers suggest that other factors may be more effective targets for heart disease prevention, highlighting the need for further research to understand the underlying causes of this connection.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and Yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that Vitamin D deficiency can increase heart disease risk, and results showing Zinc and vitamin B6 linked to lower death risk in heart disease.
The research findings can be found in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
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