Abstract
Background: Carotid intima thickness has previously been correlated to the risk of presenting cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, low vitamin D levels have been observed in patients with coronary artery calcifications and higher incidence of cardiovascular events.
Objective: To determine if vitamin D levels were correlated to carotid intima thickness, in order to propose the use of serum vitamin D levels as an independent marker of cardiovascular risk.
Methods: Thirty (n=30) postmenopausal women (aged 45-65) were studied by measuring serum 25-hidroxy vitamin D levels and comparing these levels to their carotid intima thickness.
Results: Mean serum level of 25-hidroxy vitamin D was 64.3 nmol/L and the mean carotid intima thickness was 0.83 mm. Pearson test for correlation between these two variables was weak (r= -0.126) and non-significant (p= 0.505).
Conclusions: There was no evidence of correlation between serum vitamin D levels and carotid intima thickness, and thus vitamin D levels should not be used as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
References
Gennari C. Calcium and vitamin D nutrition and bone disease of the elderly. Public Health Nutr. 2001;4(2B):547-559.
Chen S, Gemelga G, Yeghiazarians Y. Is Vitamin D supplementation an effective treatment for hypertension? Curr Hypertens Rep. 2022;24(10):445-453.
Sacerdote A, Dave P, Lokshin V, Bahtiyar G. Type 2 Diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance and vitamin D. Curr Diab Rep. 2019;19(10):101.
Melamed ML, Muntner P, Michos ED, et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease: results from NHANES 2001 to 2004. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008;28(6):1179-1185.
Lactic N, Erben RG. Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease, with emphasis on hypertension, atherosclerosis and heart failure. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(18):6483.
Amrein K, Schrek M, Hoffmann M, et al. Vitamin D deficiency 2.0: an update on the current status worldwide. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2020;74(11):1498-1513.
Cui A, Zhang T, Xiao P, Fan Z, Wang H, Zhuang Y. Global and regional prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in population-based studies from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 7.9 million participants. Front Nutr. 2023;10:1070808.
De Cock C, Bruyere O, Collette J, Reginster JY. Vitamin D inadequacy in French osteoporotic and osteopenic women. Joint Bone Spine. 2008;75(5):567-572.
Lim SK, Kung AW, Sompongse S, Soontrapa S, Tsai KS. Vitamin D inadequacy in postmenopausal women in Eastern Asia. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008;24(1):99-106.
Bruyere O, Decock C, Delhez M, Collette J, Reginster JY. Highest prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in institutionalized women compared with noninstitutionalized women: a case-control study. Womens Health (Lond). 2009;5(1):49-54.
Bhattoa HP, Bettembuk P, Ganacharya S, Balogh A. Prevalence and seasonal variation of hypovitaminosis D and its relationship to bone metabolism in community dwelling postmenopausal Hungarian women. Osteoporos Int. 2004;15(6):447-451.
Romagnoli E, Caravella P, Scarnecchia L, Martinez P, Minisola S. Hypovitaminosis D in an Italian population of healthy subjects and hospitalized patients. Br J Nutr. 1999;81(2):133-137.
de Boer I, Kestenbaum B, Shoben AB, Michos ED, Sarnak MJ, Siscovick DS. 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels inversely associate with risk for developing coronary artery calcification. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009;20(8):1805-1812.
Kuroda T, Shiraki M, Tanaka S, Ohta H. Contributions of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, co-morbidities and bone mass to mortality in Japanese postmenopausal women. Bone. 2009;44(1):168-172.
Simon A, Gariepi J, Chironi G, Megnien JL, Levenson J. Intima-media thickness: a new tool for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular risk. J Hypertens. 2002;20(2):159-169.
Nikić P, Savić M, Jakovljević V, Djurić D. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness, carotid atherosclerosis and subtypes of ischemic cerebral disease. Rom J Intern Med. 2004;42(1):149-160.
Sharrett AR, Patsch W, Sorlie PD, Heiss G, Bond MG, Davis CE. Associations of lipoprotein cholesterols, apolipoproteins A-I and B, and triglycerides with carotid atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Arterioscler Thromb. 1994;14(7):1098-1104.
Zorlu M, Şekerci A, Tunç M, et al. Evaluation of relationship between Vitamin D level and adropin, IL-1b, IL-6 and oxidative status in women. Turk J Med Sci. 2022;52(4):1197-1206.
Braam LA, Hoeks AP, Brouns F, Hamulyák K, Gerichhausen MJ, Vermeer C. Beneficial effects of vitamins D and K on the elastic properties of the vessel wall in postmenopausal women: a follow-up study. Thromb Haemost. 2004;91(2):373-80.
Holick MF. Vitamin D Status: Measurement, Interpretation, and Clinical Application. Ann Epidemiol 2009;19(2):73-78.
Montero-Arias F, Sedó-Mejía G, Ramos-Esquivel A. Vitamin D Insufficiency and Asthma Severity in Adults from Costa Rica. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2013;5(5) 283-288.
Reis JP, von Mühlen D, Michos ED, et al. Serum vitamin D, parathyroid hormone levels, and carotid atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 2009;207(2):585-590.
Srámek A, Bosch JG, Reiber JH, Van Oostayen JA, Rosendaal FR. Ultrasound assessment of atherosclerotic vessel wall changes: reproducibility of intima-media thickness measurements in carotid and femoral arteries. Invest Radiol. 2000;35(12):699-706.
Gariepy J, Salomon J, Denarié N, et al. Sex and Topographic Differences in Associations Between Large-Artery Wall Thickness and Coronary Risk Profile in a French Working Cohort: The AXA Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998;18(4):584-590.
Sharrett AR, Sorlie PD, Chambless LE, et al. Relative importance of various risk factors for asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis versus coronary heart disease incidence. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;149(9):843-852.
Sajjadieh H, Sajjadieh A, Koopaaei ZK, Oveisgharan S.Correlation between Vitamin D and coronary artery calcification. J Res Med Sci. 2020;25:51.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2023 Carlos Escalante-Gómez, Graciela Robles-Mora, Roberto Brenes-Esquivel