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Childhood vitamin D levels linked to carotid IMT in adulthood
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Subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood was associated with low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in childhood, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Markus Juonala, MD, PhD, of the University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues evaluated data from 2,148 participants in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study collected in 1980 when they were aged 3 to 18 years and again in 2007 when they were aged 30 to 45 years to determine the effect of low 25-(OH)D levels in childhood on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in adulthood.
Baseline and follow-up concentrations of 25-(OH)D were found to have a significant correlation in men (P < .0001) and women (P < .0001). Overall, 39% of men and 31% of women remained in the lowest quartile of 25-(OH)D into adulthood. Carotid plaque was found in 2.5% of participants. Men had mean IMT measurements of 0.644 mm, and mean IMT measurements were 0.613 mm in women (P < .0001).
After adjustment for age, sex and childhood risk factors, an inverse relation was found between childhood 25-(OH)D levels and adulthood IMT in women (P = .03), but not in men (P = .88).
Participants with 25-(OH)D levels in the lowest quartile during childhood (< 40 nmol/L) had a greater increased risk of high-risk IMT as adults compared with those not in the lowest quartile (P < .001).
“Our results showed an association between low 25-(OH)D levels in childhood and increased occurrence of subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood,” Juonala said in a press release. “The association was independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors including serum lipids, blood pressure, smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity indices and socioeconomic status.”
Juonala noted that more studies are needed “to investigate whether low vitamin D levels have a causal role in the development of increased carotid artery thickness.
“Nevertheless, our observations highlight the importance of providing children with a diet that includes sufficient vitamin D,” he said. – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Markus Juonala, MD, PhD, can be reached at mataju@utu.fi.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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