Vitamin D may prevent heart attacks in men



Vitamin D Deficiency May Hurt Heart

Low Blood Levels of Vitamin D Tied to Cardiovascular Problems in Adults With High Blood Pressure

By Miranda Hitti WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 7, 2008 -- Adults with hypertension (high blood pressure) may be more likely to have cardiovascular problems if they also have vitamin D deficiency.

Researchers report that news in today's advance online edition of Circulation.

Data came from 1,739 adults enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study, a long-term health study based in Framingham, Mass.

Harvard Medical School's Thomas Wang, MD, and colleagues tracked participants with no history of heart problems who were 59 years old, on average.

Participants got their blood levels of vitamin D checked; 28% had vitamin D deficiency, including 9% with severe vitamin D deficiency.

By the end of the study period, 120 participants had had a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, stroke, chest pain, heart failure, and peripheral claudication (pain in the legs caused by circulation problems).

People with vitamin D deficiency and hypertension were about twice as likely as people without hypertension and vitamin D deficiency to have a cardiovascular event during the study. Vitamin D deficiency wasn't linked to cardiovascular problems in people who don't have hypertension.

Other factors, including physical activity, age, gender, and type 2 diabetes, didn't explain the results. But Wang's team can't rule out other influences.

Wang's study was purely observational; participants weren't told to take vitamin D or to spend more time in the sun so that their bodies could make more vitamin D. The researchers call for other studies to see if treating vitamin D deficiency lowers heart risks.

Vitamin D Deficiency Worsens Breast Cancer?

Inadequate Levels of Vitamin D Linked to Sharply Increased Odds of Cancer Spread, Death

By Charlene Laino WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

May 16, 2008 -- Vitamin D deficiency is common among women diagnosed with breast cancer, and it may raise the risk of cancer spread and death, researchers report.

In a new study, women with vitamin D deficiency at the time of breast cancer diagnosis were 94% more likely to experience cancer spread and 73% more likely to die over the next 10 years, compared to women with adequate vitamin D levels.

More than 1 in 3 women studied had a vitamin D deficiency.

The study is the first to suggest a link between vitamin D deficiency and breast cancer progression, but it doesn't prove cause and effect. And it's too soon to recommend that all women with breast cancer start taking supplements to improve their outlook, says study head Pamela Goodwin, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.

But "women with breast cancer may want to get their vitamin D levels checked in a blood test and get them into the healthy optimal range," she tells WebMD.

The findings are scheduled to be reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

Vitamin D Puts Brakes on Breast Cancer

Vitamin D is found in some foods, especially milk and fortified cereals, and is made by the body after exposure to sunlight. It is necessary for bone health, and some studies suggest that it may protect women from developing breast cancer in the first place.

From a biological point of view, it makes sense that vitamin D would put the brakes on breast cancer development and spread, Goodwin says.

"Breast cancer cells have vitamin D receptors, and when these receptors are activated by vitamin D, it triggers a series of molecular changes that can slow down cell growth, cause cells to die, and make the cancer less aggressive," she says.

For the new study, Goodwin and colleagues measured vitamin D levels in the blood of 512 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Toronto between 1989 and 1995. They were followed for a median of 12 years.

Only 24% had adequate levels of vitamin D when they were diagnosed with cancer. A total of 37.5% were deficient in vitamin D. The other 38.5% had insufficient levels of vitamin D.

Of note, Goodwin says, is that women with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to have aggressive cancers than those with sufficient levels.

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Poor Breast Cancer Prognosis

After 10 years, 83% of women with adequate levels were alive without signs of cancer spread (metastasis) vs. only 69% of women with vitamin D deficiency. Most of the deaths were from breast cancer.

For women with insufficient levels of vitamin D, there was a slightly increased risk of cancer spread compared to women with sufficient levels, but the difference was so small it could have been due to chance. "And their risk of death was the same," Goodwin says. "So the majority of the [negative] effect is in women with a deficiency."

Vitamin D may prevent heart attacks in men

Study: Those with lower levels were 2 1/2 times more likely to have heart attack

By Will Dunham Reuters 3:55 p.m. PT, Mon., June. 9, 2008

[pic]Men with low levels of vitamin D have an elevated risk for a heart attack, researchers said on Monday in the latest study to identify important possible health benefits from the "sunshine vitamin."

In the study, men classified as deficient in vitamin D were about 2 1/2 times more likely to have a heart attack than those with higher levels of the vitamin. "Those with low vitamin D, on top of just being at higher risk for heart attack in general, were at particularly high risk to have a fatal heart attack," study author Dr. Edward Giovannucci of the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said in a telephone interview. The study involved 454 health professionals ages 40 to 75 who had suffered a nonfatal heart attack or died of heart disease, as well as 900 other men with no history of cardiovascular disease. They were followed for 10 years after providing blood samples to measure their vitamin D levels.

The researchers compared those who were deficient in vitamin D — no more than 15 nanograms per milliliter of blood — to men who were in at least the lower end of the normal range — at least 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood. The body makes vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Milk commonly is fortified with it, and it is found in fatty fish like salmon. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, and it can lead to rickets in children.

A number of recent studies have indicated vitamin D also may offer a variety of other health benefits, including protecting against types of cancer including colon and breast cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis. In January, researchers led by Dr. Thomas Wang of Harvard Medical School reported findings that fit with the new study, showing that people with low vitamin D levels have a higher risk for heart attack, heart failure and stroke.

Giovannucci said there is enough evidence about the value of vitamin D to encourage people to ensure they have normal levels. He said people can learn their vitamin D levels by having their doctor give them a blood test. Those whose levels are too low can take vitamin D supplements, he said. "Many people have low vitamin levels," Giovannucci said.

"Traditionally, physicians have only been concerned about the bone effects. But perhaps having these chronically low levels of vitamin D may be having these subtle physiological changes in a lot of tissues," Giovannucci added. Giovannucci said there could be a number of ways in which vitamin D may protect against heart attack. He said it might lower blood pressure, regulate inflammation, reduce calcification of coronary arteries, affect the heart muscle or reduce respiratory infections in winter.

The study was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

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