Stiff arteries in seniors associated with low vitamin D levels – July 2012

Arterial Stiffness and Vitamin D Levels: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism July 5, 2012 jc.2012-1584
Francesco Giallauria giallauriaf@mail.nih.gov, Yuri Milaneschi, Toshiko Tanaka, Marcello Maggio, Marco Canepa, Palchamy Elango, Carlo Vigorito, Edward G. Lakatta, Luigi Ferrucci and James Strait
Longitudinal Studies Section (F.G., Y.M., T.T., P.E., L.F.), Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21225; Department of Clinical Medicine (F.G., C.V.), Cardiovascular and Immunological Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy; Department of Psychiatry (Y.M.), VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (M.M.), Section of Geriatrics, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy; Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science (M.C., E.G.L., J.S.), National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21225

Context: The importance of vitamin D for bone health has long been acknowledged. Recent evidence suggests that vitamin D can also play a role in reducing the risk of several other diseases, including cardiovascular disease.

Objective: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) is an independent cross-sectional correlate of central arterial stiffness in a normative aging study population.

Design and Settings: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis.

Subjects: We studied 1228 healthy volunteers (50% males; age, 70 ± 12 yr) of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Main Outcome Measures: We measured carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and 25-OH D levels.

Results: We found a significant inverse association between PWV and 25-OH D levels (adjusted r2 = 0.27; ? = ?0.43; P = 0.001).

After adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, season of blood draw, estimated glomerular filtration rate, physical activity level, cardiovascular risk factors score (smoking, visceral obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes), calcium/vitamin D supplementation, serum calcium, and PTH levels, the association between PWV and 25-OH D levels was only slightly reduced and remained statistically significant (adjusted r2 = 0.34; ? = ?0.34; P = 0.04).

Conclusions: Vitamin D levels are inversely associated with increased arterial stiffness in a normative aging population, irrespective of traditional risk factor burden. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism of this association and to test the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation can reduce arterial stiffness.

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Arterial stiffness reduced by vitamin D
• Aortic Calcification 85 percent more likely if vitamin D level lower than 29 ng – June 2012
• Overview Cardiovascular and Vitamin D
• 24X less Calcification of Aorta for PAD with modest level of vitamin D – Aug 2011
• Arterial stiffness reduced if use at least 2,000 IU of Vitamin D for 4 months – meta-analysis Dec 2019
• Cardiovascular category listing has 528 items along with related searches
• Arterial stiffness reduced with vitamin D intervention – June 2011
• Low vitamin D may contribute to Peripheral Arterial Disease – June 2010
• More than 800 mg of Calcium increases Cardiovascular events by 85 percent– Nov 2011

See also on web

• The Calcium Supplement Problem: As Serious As A Heart Attack Jan 2012
  5 clinical trials: taking elemental calcium supplements of 500 mg or more increased the relative risk of heart attack by 27%.