- Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is important for bone health and immune system support
- Australian researchers followed a group of older people to see whether vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of major heart disease events.
- The researchers gave the test group a monthly vitamin D supplement which they took for five years.
- While the risk reduction was not as great as the researchers had hoped, they did learn that the people who took vitamin D supplements had a small risk reduction for certain major cardiovascular events.
A study recently published by
The researchers followed a group of older adults who were between ages 60 and 84. This particular age group is known to be at a higher risk for developing heart disease.
While the scientists did not find that vitamin D had any impact on strokes when comparing the control and test groups, they did learn that the rate of major cardiovascular events was 9% lower in the group that took the vitamin D supplement.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the top cause of death in the U.S. While CVD can affect adults of all ages, the
Considering how deadly CVD can be, as well as the burden it may have on the healthcare system, scientists have been looking for ways to improve treatments for such diseases as well as prevent them.
According to the study authors, prior studies did not show a connection between vitamin D and reducing CVD risk, but the authors thought those studies had limitations. The authors noted that “vitamin D has biological effects which suggest it could influence cardiovascular disease,” which prompted them to do a more in-depth study focusing on older adults.
The researchers recruited 21,315 people ages 60 to 84. They excluded participants…
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