25 Aug Study Questions Supplemental Vitamin D for Heart Disease Prevention

MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Esther Ooi &
Børge G Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc
Professor, University of Copenhagen
Chief Physician, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital
Dept. Clinical Biochemistry Herlev Ringvej 75, DK-2730 Herlev, Denmark

Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?

Answer: Our findings suggest that low 25(OH)D levels observationally is simply a marker for elevated atherogenic lipoproteins, and thus question a role for vitamin D supplementation in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Medical Research: Were any of the findings unexpected?

Answer: Unexpectedly, we found an association between genetically low HDL cholesterol levels and high 25(OH)D levels, the opposite of observational associations between low HDL cholesterol and low 25(OH)D levels. We speculate that the discrepancy may relate to the well-known association between low HDL cholesterol and high remnant cholesterol, and increased cardiovascular risk.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Answer: Clinicians and patients should consider a more conservative approach to using vitamin D supplementation as a lipid-lowering intervention.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Answer: Our data further reasons that more rigorous intervention studies to interrogate the association between plasma 25(OH)D and lipoprotein levels are required.

Citation:

Elevated Remnant Cholesterol in 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency in the General Population: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Ooi EM¹, Afzal S², Nordestgaard BG³.
Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2014 Jul 27. pii: CIRCGENETICS.113.000416.
[Epub ahead of print]

Last Updated on August 25, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD