Vitamin D and mortality in older men and women.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Vitamin D deficiency is common among the elderly and may contribute to cardiovascular disease. The aim of our study was to elucidate whether low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] are associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

DESIGN AND PATIENTS:

The Hoorn Study is a prospective population-based study among older men and women.

MEASUREMENTS:

Fasting serum 25(OH)D was determined in 614 study participants at the follow-up visit in 2000-2001, the baseline for the present analysis. To account for sex differences and seasonal variations of 25(OH)D levels we formed sex-specific quartiles, which were calculated from the 25(OH)D values of each season.

RESULTS:

After a mean follow-up period of 6.2 years, 51 study participants died including 20 deaths due to cardiovascular causes. Unadjusted Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs; with 95% confidence intervals) for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the first when compared with the upper three 25(OH)D quartiles were 2.24 (1.28-3.92; P = 0.005) and 4.78 (1.95-11.69; P = 0.001), respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, arterial hypertension, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, glomerular filtration rate and waist-to-hip ratio, the HRs remained significant for all-cause [1.97 (1.08-3.58; P = 0.027)] and for cardiovascular mortality [5.38 (2.02-14.34; P = 0.001)].

CONCLUSIONS:

Low 25(OH)D levels are associated with all-cause mortality and even more pronounced with cardiovascular mortality, but it remains unclear whether vitamin D deficiency is a cause or a consequence of a poor health status. Therefore, intervention studies are warranted to evaluate whether vitamin D supplementation reduces mortality and cardiovascular diseases.

• Authors: Stefan Pilz, Harald Dobnig, Giel Nijpels, Robert J Heine, Coen D A Stehouwer, Marieke B Snijder, Rob M van Dam, Jacqueline M Dekker
• Journal: Clinical endocrinology (Clin Endocrinol (Oxf)) Vol. 71 Issue 5 Pg. 666-72 (Nov 2009) ISSN: 1365-2265 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19226272 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Vitamin D
• 25-hydroxyvitamin D

Topics

• Aged
• Cardiovascular Diseases (blood, mortality)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Vitamin D (analogs & derivatives, blood)
• Vitamin D Deficiency (blood, mortality)