Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Arterial Stiffness in Black Teens

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness in black teens, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Black teens taking vitamin D supplementation of 2,000 IU per day had a decrease in central arterial stiffness.

“While we think of the sun as providing humans with most of our body’s requirement of vitamin D, 95% of the 44 black teenagers living in sunny Georgia who took part in this study were classified as vitamin D deficient,” says Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and lead study author. “Our study shows that vitamin D supplementation may improve cardiovascular health in black teens who don’t get enough vitamin D from their diet and sun exposure.”

In this study, 44 black teenagers (male and female) were randomly assigned to receive either 400 IU of vitamin D per day as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics or 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day. Study subjects taking 400 IU of vitamin D per day did not achieve vitamin D sufficiency, while their peers who took 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day on average became vitamin D sufficient.

Researchers measured arterial stiffness in study subjects using pulse wave velocity, a noninvasive procedure where a pulse is emitted at two arterial sites. The pulse’s transit time and distance travelled help researchers reliably calculate arterial stiffness. Results from the study showed that vitamin D may protect vascular systems and that sufficient supplementation of vitamin D could elicit favorable alterations in the arterial system and in cardiovascular function in general.

“Our study is the first clinical trial of vitamin D intervention to use 2,000 IU in black subjects and to include cardiovascular risk factors as outcomes in youth,” says Dong. “Our study indicates that the current recommendations for vitamin D intake in black teenagers may need to be revised upward.”

Source: Endocrine Society