Research published in Archives of Internal Medicine (June 9, 2008; Volume 168, Issue 11, Pages 1174–1180) examined the relationship between vitamin D status and the risk of heart attack in men. This nested case–control analysis was conducted within the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and included 18,225 men between the ages of 40 and 75 who were free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease at the time of blood collection.
Over a 10-year follow-up period, 454 men experienced either a nonfatal myocardial infarction or fatal coronary heart disease. The researchers found that men with low serum vitamin D levels were at significantly higher risk. Specifically, those with vitamin D levels below 15 ng/mL were 2.42 times more likely to experience a fatal coronary event or nonfatal heart attack compared with men who had adequate vitamin D levels.
These findings suggest that low vitamin D status was associated with an increased risk of coronary events in this population.
