Low Vitamin D Levels Signal Increased Heart Risk in Seniors

METHODOLOGY:

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of older adults from the InCHIANTI Biobank in Italy to examine associations between levels of vitamin D metabolites and periostin and the CV risk.
They included 299 older adults (mean age, 72.8 years; 44.8% men) whose samples were collected between June 2013 and July 2014.
Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH] 2D), and periostin were measured.
The CV risk was estimated using an eight-item CV risk score and European Society of Cardiology SCORE2/SCORE2-OP 10-year algorithms, with high risk defined as a CV risk score ≥ 3 and SCORE2/SCORE2-OP ≥ 20%.

Periostin levels were positively correlated with vitamin D metabolites, with adjusted correlation coefficient values of 0.74 with 25(OH)D and 0.35 with 1,25(OH)2D (P < .0001 for both). Low periostin levels were linked to 22.4-fold higher odds of having 25(OH)D levels less than 20 ng/mL (P < .0001).
Individuals with periostin levels less than 150 pmol/L had higher CV risk scores (2.9 vs 2.2; P < .0001) and SCORE2/SCORE2-OP values (21.1% vs 14.7%; P < .0001) than those with higher periostin levels.
When all three markers were considered together, only 1,25(OH)2D levels less than 41 pg/mL remained significantly associated with a high CV risk (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.45 for the CV risk score; aOR, 3.05 for SCORE2/SCORE2-OP; P < .0001 for both).
Low periostin levels were independently associated with age ≥ 75 years (aOR, 2.7; P = .006) and dyslipidaemia (aOR, 3.26; P = .0003).

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Low Vitamin D Levels Signal Increased Heart Risk in Seniors In older adults, lower levels of vitamin D metabolites and periostin, a protein involved in remodelling and repairing tissues, were linked to an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. Low periostin levels were correlated with low vitamin D levels, and when all three markers were considered together, only the active form of vitamin D independently predicted the CV risk.

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