4 Jul 2023 • Authors of a new analysis from the large, randomized D-Health study say their findings don’t rule out the possibility that vitamin D might reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, particularly MI in elderly patients. In a trial of more than 20,000 older adults, vitamin D supplementation trended toward reducing risk for major CV events in older adults compared with placebo, a finding differing from previous studies.

While researchers believe these data, published this week in the BMJ, offer a glimmer of sunlight for vitamin D, others don’t think the results are strong enough to alter the current consensus that supplementation doesn’t lower the risk of developing CVD.

• In the main results from the D-Health Trial published in The Lancet in January 2022, there was no difference between the groups in all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, cancer mortality or other causes of mortality.
• Participants were assigned 60,000 IU per month of vitamin D or placebo taken orally for up to 5 years
• At 5 years, a major CV event, defined as MI, stroke or coronary revascularization, occurred in 6.6% of the placebo group and 6% of the vitamin D group, Thompson and colleagues found.
• Compared with the placebo group, the vitamin D group had lower rates of MI and coronary revascularization but not stroke, according to the researchers.
• The findings differ from the VITAL, ViDA and several other large trials of vitamin D, which found no CV benefit associated with vitamin D supplementation.

In conclusion, these findings indicate that vitamin D supplementation might reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events, particularly myocardial infarction and coronary revascularisation. This protective effect could be more marked in those taking statins or other cardiovascular drugs at baseline.

Source: tctMD | Read full story