Is vitamin d deficiency a new risk factor for cardiovascular disease?

Is vitamin d deficiency a new risk factor for cardiovascular disease? Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2015;9:40-9 Authors: Mandarino NR, Júnior Fd, Salgado JV, Lages JS, Filho NS Abstract The role of vitamin D in the regulation of bone metabolism has been well established. However, in recent years, many studies have demonstrated that its role extends far beyond bone health. Growing evidence has shown a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. The mechanisms by which vitamin D exerts its cardiovascular protective effects are still not completely understood, but there is evidence that it participates in the regulation of renin-angiotensin system and the mechanisms of insulin sensitivity and activity of inflammatory cytokines, besides its direct cardiovascular actions. In this review, several studies linking vitamin D deficiency with cardiometabolic risk as well as small randomized trials that have evaluated the cardiovascular effects of its supplementation are presented. However, large randomized placebo-controlled studies are still needed before we can definitively establish the role of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease. PMID: 25866591 [PubMed]
Source: Open Cardiovascular Medicine Journal - Category: Cardiology Tags: Open Cardiovasc Med J Source Type: research