The Impact of Obesity on the Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Cardiovascular Disease

• Main Authors: Stavroula A. Paschou, Marinos Kosmopoulos, Ilias P. Nikas, Michael Spartalis, Evanthia Kassi, Dimitrios G. Goulis, Irene Lambrinoudaki, Gerasimos Siasos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: vitamin d; obesity; cardiovascular disease; atherosclerosis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/10/2458

The aim of this article is to review the literature regarding the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its modification in the presence of obesity. Despite the strong association between vitamin D status and cardiovascular outcomes, vitamin D supplementation trials in the general population have failed to decrease the incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality. A comprehensive study of the published literature and a comparison with experimental data lead to the conclusion that obesity, due to its high prevalence and strong association with both vitamin D deficiency and CVD, may act as a critical confounder, which is responsible for the different results on this association. Adoption of a vitamin D preventive supplementation strategy for CVD is unlikely to yield any benefit to the general population. However, it might be particularly useful in obese adults with increased risk for CVD.