Vitamin D may be good for heart health.💖💖💖

After the human body is irradiated by ultraviolet rays in the sun, the skin cansynthesize an essential vitamin-vitamin D. Many people know that vitamin D is good for bones. However, recent studies have pointed out that when vitamin D is deficient, not only bone health may be affected, but also heart health. Researchers at the University of South Australia discovered genetic evidence for the first time. It proves that vitamin D deficiency can cause cardiovascular disease. People with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop heart disease and high blood pressure than those with normal levels of vitamin D. Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of human deaths worldwide. It is estimated to cause more than 15 million deaths each year. At the same time, cardiovascular diseases also cause huge economic losses to countries around the world. Understanding the causes of cardiovascular disease can effectively prevent it and reduce economic losses. 

For people who do not often do outdoor activities, it is easy to cause vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency is actually very common. Data from the United Kingdom showed that 55% of the participants had low levels of vitamin D (<50nmol/L), and 13% had severe vitamin D deficiency (<25nmol/L). Statistics show that 37% of Canadians, 23% of Australians and 24% of Americans have had low vitamin D levels. Especially for the elderly, since they may take less outdoor activities, they do not have enough time to be exposed to the sun. This prevents them from getting enough vitamin D. Although food also contains vitamin D, such as oily fish and eggs, the content of vitamin D in food is relatively low. Therefore, even through a balanced diet, there is generally not enough vitamin D. If we cannot get enough vitamin D through sunlight, we need to take supplements every day to achieve the demand. 

Vitamin D can affects cardiovascular health.

The results of the study show that if they can increase the level of vitamin D within the normal range, it should also affect the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Among the population participating in the study, individuals with vitamin D deficiency increased their vitamin D levels to at least 50 nmol/L, which is estimated to prevent 4.4% of cardiovascular disease cases. Researchers evaluated how increasing the levels of vitamin D affect cardiovascular disease risk based on how high the participants' actual the levels of vitamin D were. The study used data from nearly 300,000 people. This allows the study to provide strong statistical evidence for the link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease. People with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop heart disease and high blood pressure than those with normal levels of vitamin D. For participants with the lowest levels of vitamin D, the risk of heart disease was more than twice that of those with sufficient vitamin D. The research leader thinks, "It is unethical to recruit patients with vitamin D deficiency to participate in randomized controlled trials and keep them from receiving treatment for a long time. But it is this method that can show how increasing the concentration can affect the risk of those who need it most, and don't let participants suffer any harm." Non-linear Mendelian randomization analysis supports the L-type association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and cardiovascular disease risk. This shows that the cardiovascular health benefits of improving vitamin D status are the strongest for those in the vitamin D deficiency range. Vitamin D supplementation may have the strongest effect on those with the lowest levels of vitamin D. The methods to eliminate vitamin D deficiency within the population can reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease. 

Non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses support a role for vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease risk.

If you want to know more detail, you can read this article.👇

Ang Zhou, Joseph B Selvanayagam, Elina Hyppönen, Non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses support a role for vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease risk, European Heart Journal, 2021;, ehab809, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab809