Vitamin D Deficiency ~ Now Linked to Increased Heart Disease Risk?

Vitamin D Deficit Could Lead to Heart Woes

Winter's lack of sun means adults at risk should be monitored.

The lack of sunshine during winter may diminish vitamin D levels in the body and harm cardiovascular health, U.S. researchers say.

The temperature might not be the only thing plummeting this winter. Many people also will experience a decrease in their vitamin D levels, which can play a role in heart disease, according to a new review article in Circulation.

Vitamin D deficiency results in part from reduced exposure to sunlight, which is common during cold weather months when days are shorter. The body needs sunshine to produce vitamin D, but that process is slowed in the winter due to less daylight and spending more time indoors.

"Chronic vitamin D deficiency may be a culprit in heart disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome," study author Sue Penckofer, a professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University in Chicago, said in a university news release.

She and her colleagues reviewed a number of studies that linked vitamin D deficiency to heart disease. The studies said rates of severe heart disease or death may be 30 percent to 50 percent higher in sun-deprived heart disease patients.

Treatment options to correct this level, such as vitamin D2 or D3, may decrease the risk of severe disease or death from cardiovascular disorders. The preferred range in the body is 30 - 60 ng/mL of 25(OH) vitamin D. Penckofer and colleagues concluded that diet alone is not sufficient to manage vitamin D levels.

"Most physicians do not routinely test for vitamin D deficiency. However, most experts would agree that adults at risk for heart disease and others who experience fatigue, joint pain, or depression should have their vitamin D levels measured," Penckofer said.