Heart Dangers of Low Vitamin D Levels May Vary

The heart risks of having low levels of vitamin D may hinge on what race or ethnicity you are, new research suggests. Specifically, the team of scientists found it might increase heart disease risk among white or Chinese individuals, but it does not seem to pose any cardiovascular danger to black or Hispanic adults. "We think that the differences are mainly due to biologic differences in vitamin D metabolism between race [and] ethnicity groups. However, future studies are needed to more carefully examine these potential differences," said study author Cassianne Robinson-Cohen, of the University of Washington, in Seattle. "Our results suggest that we should use caution in extrapolating results from studies conducted in European Americans to all race [and] ethnicity groups." Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because the human body produces it when exposed to the sun's rays. In recent years, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a host of illnesses, including heart disease, certain cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and some autoimmune disorders. The Institute of Medicine recommends 600 international units (IU) per day for everyone aged 1 to 70 and 800 IU a day for adults older than 70. In the study, researchers measured vitamin D levels among more than 6,400 people of different ethnic backgrounds. None had evidence of heart disease when the study began. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_138537.html