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Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Risk

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Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a common condition that has well-documented effects on musculoskeletal health. A growing body of literature has related vitamin D deficiency to other chronic disorders, including cardiovascular disease. Several plausible biological mechanisms have been postulated to explain this association, including the effect of poor vitamin D status on intermediate risk factors (eg, hypertension and diabetes), neurohormonal activation, inflammation, and cardiac remodeling. These mechanisms have been explored in experimental and animal studies, as well as several small interventional studies. The results of the controlled trials have not been conclusive to date. In this review, we summarize the existing studies investigating the effects of vitamin D on cardiovascular health, and propose that additional well-designed, prospective, randomized controlled trials are necessary to delineate the appropriate role of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Wang has received research support from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.

Disclosure

Dr. Wang has participated on the scientific advisory board for, served as a consultant for, been paid for the development of educational presentations by, and received research support from Diasorin.

Dr. Motiwala reported no potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

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Motiwala, S.R., Wang, T.J. Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Risk. Curr Hypertens Rep 14, 209–218 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-012-0262-y

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