Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease: An Update

In the clinical setting, administration of high daily or bolus doses of vitamin D is often solely based on 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] testing. This review summarizes the evidence of the effect of vitamin D on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that CVD risk markers, such as lipid parameters, inflammation markers, blood pressure, and arterial stiffness, are largely unaffected by vitamin D supplementation. Similar results have been obtained regarding CVD events and mortality from (meta)-analyses of RCTs, even in subgroups with 25(OH) D concentrations <50 nmol/l. Likewise, Mendelian randomization studies have indicated that the genetic reduction of the 25(OH) D concentration does not increase CVD risk. Some studies do not exclude the possibility of adverse vitamin D effects, such as elevated plasma calcium concentration and an increased CVD risk at a 25(OH) D concentration >125 nmol/l. Based on a conservative benefit-risk management approach, vitamin D doses beyond the nutritionally recommended amounts of 600 to 800 IE daily currently cannot be advised for the prevention of CVD events.