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Vitamin D status is associated with early markers of cardiovascular disease in prepubertal children

  • Benjamin U. Nwosu EMAIL logo , Louise Maranda , Karen Cullen , Carol Ciccarelli and Mary M. Lee
Published/Copyright: July 2, 2013

Abstract

Background: The associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and related markers of early cardiovascular disease (CVD) are unclear in prepubertal children.

Objective: To investigate the association of 25(OH)D with markers of CVD. The hypothesis was that 25(OH)D would vary inversely with non-HDL-C.

Subjects and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study of children (n=45; 26 males, 19 females) of mean age 8.3±2.5 years to investigate the relationships between 25(OH)D and glucose, insulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and lipids. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25(OH)D <20 ng/mL; overweight as body mass index (BMI) ≥85th but <95th percentile; and obesity as BMI >95th percentile.

Results: Twenty subjects (44.4%) had BMI <85%, and 25 had BMI of ≥85%. Eleven participants (24.4%) had 25(OH)D of <20 ng/mL, and 10 (22.2%) had 25(OH)D of >30 ng/mL. Patients with 25(OH)D of <20 ng/mL had significantly elevated non-HDL-C (136.08±44.66 vs. 109.88±28.25, p=0.025), total cholesterol (TC)/HDL ratio (3.89±1.20 vs. 3.21±0.83, p=0.042), and triglycerides (TG) (117.09±71.27 vs. 73.39±46.53, p=0.024), while those with 25(OH)D of >30 ng/mL had significantly lower non-HDL-C, TC/HDL, TG, and LDL (82.40±18.03 vs. 105.15±28.38, p=0.006). Multivariate analysis showed significant inverse correlations between 25(OH)D and non-HDL cholesterol (β=–0.337, p=0.043), and TC/HDL ratio (β=–0.339, p=0.028), and LDL (β=–0.359, p=0.016), after adjusting for age, race, sex, BMI, and seasonality.

Conclusions: Vitamin D varied inversely with non-HDL, TC/HDL, and LDL. A 25(OH)D level of 30 ng/mL is associated with optimal cardioprotection in children.


Corresponding author: Benjamin U. Nwosu, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue N, Worcester, MA 01655, USA, Phone: +1 508-334-7872, Fax: +1 508-856-4287, E-mail:

This study was supported in part by a grant to Benjamin U. Nwosu from the Department of Pediatrics and the Faculty Diversity Scholars Program, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA. BUN and MML are members of the UMass Diabetes and Endocrine Research Center (DK32520).

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Received: 2013-3-7
Accepted: 2013-6-3
Published Online: 2013-07-02
Published in Print: 2013-11-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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