Coronary artery disease and vitamin D
10.17605/OSF.IO/HGZM9
Lind R, Pollich I. Coronary artery disease and vitamin D. Am J med surg. 2021; 3(1). 3-6
From the department of Internal Medicine at AdventHealth Hospital, Orlando, Florida. USA. Received on January 7, 2021. Accepted on January 11, 2021. Published on January 21, 2021.
Abstract: Background. Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, has various extraskeletal effects, and several human and animal studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency may be a contributory factor in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, such studies in the Indian subcontinent are either lacking or have shown conflicting results. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 121 patients with CAD from a tertiary care center and their 80 age-matched healthy controls. Serum vitamin D levels along with serum and urine chemistries were measured in both the groups. The average duration of sun exposure/day and use of sunscreen were also considered in the study cohort using a questionnaire. Serum vitamin D levels were categorized into deficient (<30 nmol/lit), insufficient (30–75 nmol/lit), and sufficient (>75 nmol/lit) groups. Results. Among the cases, 51.2% of the patients were vitamin D deficient and 44.6% patients had insufficient vitamin D levels, whereas among controls, 40% and 31% of the population had deficient and insufficient levels of vitamin D, respectively. However, the mean value of the serum vitamin D level was not statistically different in the cases as compared to that of the controls (34.06 vs 40.19 nmol/lit). Corrected serum calcium (9.26 vs 9.59 mg%) and serum albumin levels (4.21 vs 4.75 gm%) were lower in the cases than those of the controls. The average sun exposure/day was higher among the cases than that among the controls (2.93 vs 1.85 hours). Conclusion. Vitamin D deficiency is widely prevalent in Indian population despite abundant sunshine, and the duration of sun exposure is not correlated with serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is not associated with CAD. However, serum calcium is deficient in CAD patients as compared to the controls. Large-scale studies are required to explore the association further to evaluate the benefits of screening and correction of vitamin D deficiency in patients with CAD.
Keywords: Vitamin D, Coronary artery disease.