The sunshine vitamin that `D'elivers on cardio health

Date:
December 6, 2021
Source:
University of South Australia
Summary:
Free from the sun, vitamin D delivers a natural source for one of
the hormones essential to our bodies, especially the bones. But
when you're down on this essential nutrient, it's not only your
bones that could suffer, but also your cardio health, according
to new research.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Free from the sun, vitamin D delivers a natural source for one of the
hormones essential to our bodies, especially the bones. But when you're
down on this essential nutrient, it's not only your bones that could
suffer, but also your cardio health, according to new research from the University of South Australia.


==========================================================================
In the first study of its kind, researchers from the UniSA's Australian
Centre for Precision Health at SAHMRI have identified genetic evidence
for a role of vitamin D deficiency in causing cardiovascular disease.

The study, which is published in European Heart Journal today, shows
that people with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to suffer from
heart disease and higher blood pressure, than those with normal levels
of vitamin D*. For participants with the lowest concentrations the risk
of heart disease was more than double that seen for those with sufficient concentrations.

Globally, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives per year. In Australia,
CVD accounts for one in four deaths and costs the Australian economy
five billion dollars each year, more than any other disease.

Low concentrations of vitamin D are common in many parts of the world,
with data from the UK Biobank showing that 55 per cent of participants
have low levels of vitamin D (<50 nmol/L) and 13 per cent have severe deficiency (<25 nmol/L).

Low levels of vitamin D are recorded by an estimated 23 per cent of
people in Australia, 24 per cent of people in the US, and 37 per cent
of people in Canada.



========================================================================== Chief investigator, UniSA's Prof Elina Hyppo"nen says appreciating the
role of vitamin D deficiency for heart health could help reduce the
global burden of cardiovascular disease.

"Severe deficiency is relatively rare, but in settings where this does
occur it is very important to be proactive and avoid negative effects on
the heart. For example, deficiency can be a problem for people living in residential care who may have limited exposure to sun," Prof Hyppo"nen
says.

"We can also get vitamin D from food, including oily fish, eggs and
fortified foods and drinks. This said, food is unfortunately a relatively
poor source of vitamin D, and even an otherwise healthy diet does not
typically contain enough.

"If we don't get any vitamin D through the sun, this is one of the rare nutrients for which we sometimes need to take a daily supplement to keep
up with the requirements.

"Understanding the connection between low levels of vitamin D and CVD
is especially important, given the global prevalence of this deadly
condition.



==========================================================================
"Our results are exciting as they suggest that if we can raise levels
of vitamin D within norms, we should also affect rates of CVD. In our
study population, by increasing vitamin D-deficient individuals to levels
of at least 50 nmol/L, we estimate that 4.4 per cent of all CVD cases
could have been prevented." This large-scale Mendelian study used a new genetic approach that allowed the team to assess how increasing levels
can affect CVD risk based on how high the participants actual vitamin D
levels were. The study used information from up to 267,980 individuals
which allowed the team to provide robust statistical evidence for the
link between vitamin D deficiency and CVD.

"It is not ethical to recruit people with vitamin D deficiency to a
randomised controlled trial and to leave them without treatment for long periods. Prof Hyppo"nen says.

"It is exactly this type of difficult setting which demonstrates the power
of our genetic approach, given we can show how improving concentrations
affects the risk in those most in need, without exposing participants
to any harm.

"Those with the lowest concentrations are likely to have the strongest
effects, yet a population-wide approach to eradicate vitamin D
deficiency could reduce the global burden of CVDs." Notes to editors:
*The Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS) and Osteoporosis Australia (OA) guidelines (2012) classify vitamin D results
as follows:
* 25-hydroxy-vitamin D of less than 30 nmol/L is deficient *
25-hydroxy-vitamin D of 30-50 nmol/L is mildly deficient *
25-hydroxy-vitamin D of greater than 50 nmol/L is sufficient for the
health of bones ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_South_Australia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Zhou, Ang et al. Non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses
support a
role for vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease
risk. European Heart Journal, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab809 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211206113025.htm

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