Research is providing more and more evidence on the numerous health benefits of vitamin D, including prostate health¹bone health², immune system health³, blood sugar health⁴, and overall health⁵.  Now a new study⁶ has found that low vitamin D levels may play a role in heart attacks.  Over 700,000 Americans have a heart attack for the first time each year.  Heart attacks cause 1 in every 5 deaths in the U.S. and incur costs of $151.6 billion each year⁷.

 

Previous research has shown an association between cardiovascular disease-related deaths at higher latitudes, with increases during the winter months⁸.  Building on these findings, 900 patients from the Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS)⁹ completed food frequency questionnaires¹⁰ and provided blood samples during the study period, 1993 to 2003.

 

The researchers found that those with vitamin D blood levels of 15 ng/mL or less had a 53% increased risk of a heart attack, compared to those with vitamin D blood levels of at least 30 ng/mL.  Even when the researchers controlled for other heart disease risks, including family history of disease (heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure), body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, ethnicity, region, omega-3 fatty acid intake, and LDL/HDL cholesterol, there was still a 24% increased risk for heart attack in the group with lower blood levels of vitamin D.

 

For the researchers, “low levels of [vitamin D] are associated with higher risk of [heart attack]…even after controlling for factors known to be associated with coronary artery disease” and that “the amount of vitamin D required for optimal benefit may be much higher than would be provided by current recommendations (200-600 IU/d).”

 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

 

Reference:

 

¹  Bao BY.  Protective role of 1, alpha-25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 against oxidative stress in nonmalignant human prostate epithelial cells.  International Journal of Cancer 2008; 122(12): 2699-2706

 

²  Talwar SA.  Dose response to vitamin D supplementation among postmenopausal African American women.  Amer Jou Clin Nutr 2007; 86: 1657-1662

 

³  Martineau AR.  A Single Dose of Vitamin D Enhances Immunity to Mycobacteria.  Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 176: 208-213. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200701-007OC

 

⁴  Hu FB.  Vitamin D and Calcium Intake in Relation to Type 2 Diabetes in Women.  Diabetes Care 29: 650-656

 

⁵  Autier P, Gandini S. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(16):1730-1737

 

⁶  Giovanucci E.  25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Men: A Prospective Study.  Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(11):1174-1180

 

⁷  American Heart Association Update.  Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2007 Update.  Circulation. 2007;115:e69-e171 http://circ.ahajournals.org/

  

⁸  Zittermann A, Schleithoff SS, Koerfer R. Putting cardiovascular disease and vitamin D insufficiency into perspective. Br J Nutr. 2005;94(4):483-492

 

⁹  Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Willett WC; et al. Prospective study of alcohol consumption and risk of coronary disease in men. Lancet. 1991;338(8765):464-468

 

¹⁰  Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Litin LB, Willett WC. Reproducibility and validity of an expanded self-administered semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire among male health professionals. Am J Epidemiol. 1992;135(10):1114-1126