08 Nov Should Vitamin D Be Prescribed to Prevent Heart Disease?

Observational studies show a consistent relationship between low blood levels of Vitamin D and an increased risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other conditions e.g. multiple sclerosis. Randomized studies that compare patients treated with Vitamin D to those treated with placebo have been generally disappointing.

A recent meta-analysis of 13,000 patients from 21 randomized trials concluded there was no benefit for stroke or heart attack prevention. There was a possible small benefit in heart failure prevention in elderly patients. Critics argue that the trials are not big enough or the dose of vitamin D is wrong, or that patients who didn’t have reduced Vitamin D levels were included.

In the next few years, a number of large randomized studies using high dose Vitamin D will be completed. These will likely give a definitive answer. Until then Vitamin D should only be used in selected individuals e.g. bone health problems (osteoporosis, osteomalacia), poor diets, mal-absorption syndromes, on steroids.

–Dr. Warwick Jaffe