Does Inconclusive Evidence for Vitamin D Supplementation to Reduce Risk for Cardiovascular Disease Warrant Pessimism?
Authors: William B. Grant
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters3 August 2010Does Inconclusive Evidence for Vitamin D Supplementation to Reduce Risk for Cardiovascular Disease Warrant Pessimism?William B. Grant, PhDWilliam B. Grant, PhDFrom Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC), San Francisco, CA 94164-1603.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-3-201008030-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The editorial by Guallar and colleagues (1) on vitamin D supplementation is unduly pessimistic regarding the benefits. The review by Pittas and colleagues (2), which formed the basis of the editorial, investigated cardiometabolic outcomes as a function of serum 25(OH)D. It reported a significant inverse correlation between serum 25(OH)D level and cardiovascular disease (CVD), in agreement with another article (3), which also found significant inverse correlations for the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.The review by Wang and colleagues (4) reported a statistically nonsignificant reduction in risk for CVD (pooled relative risk, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.77 to ...References1. Guallar E, Miller ER, Ordovas JM, Stranges S. Vitamin D supplementation in the age of lost innocence [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:327-9. [PMID: 20194240] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Pittas AG, Chung M, Trikalinos T, Mitri J, Brendel M, Patel K, et al. Systematic review: vitamin D and cardiometabolic outcomes. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:307-14. [PMID: 20194237] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Parker J, Hashmi O, Dutton D, Mavrodaris A, Stranges S, Kandala NB, et al. Levels of vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas. 2010;65:225-36. [PMID: 20031348] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Wang L, Manson JE, Song Y, Sesso HD. Systematic review: Vitamin D and calcium supplementation in prevention of cardiovascular events. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:315-23. [PMID: 20194238] LinkGoogle Scholar5. Grant WB. In defense of the sun: an estimate of changes in mortality rates in the United States if mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were raised to 45 ng/mL by solar ultraviolet-B irradiance. Dermatoendocrinol. 2009;1:207-14. Accessed at www.landesbioscience.com/journals/dermatoendocrinology/article/9841/ on 29 June 2010. Google Scholar6. Urashima M, Segawa T, Okazaki M, Kurihara M, Wada Y, Ida H. Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91:1255-60. [PMID: 20219962] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85:1586-91. [PMID: 17556697] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center (SUNARC), San Francisco, CA 94164-1603.Disclosures:Grants received: UV Foundation, Sunlight Research Forum, Bio-Tech-Pharmacal, Vitamin D Council, and Vitamin D Society. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoVitamin D Supplementation in the Age of Lost Innocence Eliseo Guallar , Edgar R. Miller III , Jose M. Ordovas , and Saverio Stranges Systematic Review: Vitamin D and Cardiometabolic Outcomes Anastassios G. Pittas , Mei Chung , Thomas Trikalinos , Joanna Mitri , Michael Brendel , Kamal Patel , Alice H. Lichtenstein , Joseph Lau , and Ethan M. Balk Systematic Review: Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation in Prevention of Cardiovascular Events Lu Wang , JoAnn E. Manson , Yiqing Song , and Howard D. Sesso Metrics 3 August 2010Volume 153, Issue 3Page: 209KeywordsCardiovascular diseasesGeneticsMetabolic syndromeObservational studiesRisk managementSepsisVitamin DVitamin E ePublished: 3 August 2010 Issue Published: 3 August 2010 CopyrightCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...