Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Heart Disease

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that Vitamin D deficiency may increase heart disease risk for people with type 2 diabetes. Blood was tested from 76 obese people, 55 years old, who had high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and low vitamin D levels. Conversely, blood was tested from 15 similar people who had normal vitamin D levels and another 45 people with normal blood pressure.*

Testing showed that those with type 2 diabetes were more likely to absorb LDL or “bad cholesterol” in excess when there was no vitamin D present. The study concluded with vitamin D deficiency, diabetics are at higher risk for heart disease. As always consumption of new vitamins with existing health conditions should be discussed with your doctor. But increasing vitamin D levels may be important if you have diabetes.

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*Jisu Oh, BS, Sherry Weng, MD, Shaili K. Felton, MD; Sweety Bhandare, MD, Amy Riek, MD; Boyd Butler, PhD; Brandon M. Proctor, PhD; Marvin Petty, BS; Zhouji Chen, MD, PhD; Kenneth B. Schechtman, PhD; Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD; Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD. “1,25(OH)2 Vitamin D Inhibits Foam Cell Formation and Suppresses Macrophage Cholesterol Uptake in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” Circulation. 2009;120:687-698. Published online before print August 10, 2009, doi: 10.1161/ CIRCULATIONAHA. 109.856070.