Vitamin D deficiency and coronary artery disease

Background: several factors such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes and hypertension have a determining role in cardiovascular disease. in recent years, the effect of vitamin d deficiency on cardiovascular disease has been emphasized. this study compares vitamin d deficiency in coronary heart disease patients with the control group. methods: in a cross-sectional study, 25- hydroxycholecalciferol level was compared in 119 individuals including 57 people with confirmed coronary heart disease and 62 healthy people. 25-hydroxyvitamin d [25(oh)d] was assessed using standard protocol. the level of 25(oh)d under 20 ng/dl was determined as cutoff point. results: the calculated odds ratio was 3.9 (95% confidence interval 2.6-5.5). vitamin d deficiency significantly different between patients and the control group (p = 0.01). of 37 (31%) individuals having vitamin d deficiency, 36 (97.3%) had coronary artery disease and from 57 patients with coronary artery disease 36 (63.2%) had vitamin d deficiency. conclusions: vitamin d deficiency is a relatively common disorder. risk of cardiovascular disease in people with vitamin d deficiency is almost four times of those with normal levels of vitamin d. to confirm the casual relationship between vitamin d and cardiovascular disease, clinical trial studies are suggested.