Vitamin D Supplementation May Cut Risk of Major Cardiovascular Events

WEDNESDAY, July 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For older adults, vitamin D supplementation may reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events although the difference is small and confidence intervals consistent with a null finding, according to a study published online June 28 in The BMJ.

Bridie Thompson, Ph.D., from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Herston, Australia, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of monthly vitamin D to examine whether supplementation in older adults alters the incidence of major cardiovascular events. Data were included for 21,315 participants aged 60 to 84 years at enrollment. For up to five years, 60,000 IU/month vitamin D or placebo was taken orally (10,662 and 10,653, respectively).

The researchers found that 6.6 and 6.0 percent of participants receiving placebo or vitamin D, respectively, experienced a major cardiovascular event. Compared with the placebo group, the rate of major cardiovascular events was lower in the vitamin D group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.01), especially among those who were taking cardiovascular drugs at baseline (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.97). The difference in standardized cause-specific cumulative incidence at five years was −5.8 events per 1,000 participants (95 percent confidence interval, −12.2 to 0.5 per 1,000 participants), resulting in a number needed to treat of 172 in order to avoid one major cardiovascular event.

"These findings suggest that conclusions that vitamin D supplementation does not alter risk of cardiovascular disease are premature," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text