Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Cardiovascular and Glycemic Biomarkers

Background Experimental and observational studies have suggested a link between vitamin D and cardiovascular and metabolic disease, but this has not been confirmed in randomized controlled trials. We sought to determine whether vitamin D supplementation reduces biomarkers of insulin resistance, inflammation, neurohormonal activation, and lipids. Methods and Results This was a prespecified, secondary analysis of the DAYLIGHT (Vitamin D Therapy in Individuals at High Risk of Hypertension) randomized controlled trial. We measured circulating homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, renin, aldosterone, and lipids at baseline and at 6 months in 289 individuals with low vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin-D [25-OH-D] <= 25 ng/mL) receiving low-dose (400 IU/d) versus high-dose (4000 IU/d) vitamin D3 for 6 months. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials reporting biomarker changes after vitamin D supplementation was then performed. Levels of 25-OH-D increased in the high-dose relative to the low-dose vitamin D group (+15.5 versus +4.6 ng/mL, P<0.001). Changes in biomarkers of glycemia, inflammation, and neurohormonal activation did not differ by dose. Lipids did not differ between groups, other than triglycerides, which increased in the high-dose compared with the low-dose group (+11.3 versus -6.2 mg/dL, P<0.001). The meta-analysis showed potential modest decreases in homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance and hs-CRP, but no changes in low-density lipoprotein, after vitamin D supplementation compared with control groups. Conclusions In the DAYLIGHT randomized controlled trial, high-dose vitamin D supplementation did not improve biomarkers of glycemia, inflammation, neurohormonal activation, or lipids. Registration URL: ; Unique identifier: NCT01240512.

Automated summary

Experimental and observational studies suggest a link between vitamin D and cardiovascular and metabolic disease, but randomized controlled trials have not confirmed this. High-dose vitamin D supplementation did not improve biomarkers of glycemia, inflammation, neurohormonal activation, or lipids in this study.