Vitamin D in patients with atherosclerosis : a link between atherosclerosis and bone mass ?

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2014

Vitamin D is essential for bone health and may also protect the cardiovascular system through its effect on blood pressure and inflammation. Epidemiological studies have shown an association between osteoporosis and atherosclerosis, which suggests the existence of common underlying mechanisms. We aimed to analyze the relationship between vitamin D serum levels, the severity of atherosclerosis (through the degree of carotid stenosis) and bone mineral density (BMD) and to explore the importance of both arterial blood pressure and inflammation as putative mediators of this relationship. In patients with advanced carotid atherosclerosis we found a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (60.7%) but there was no correlation between serum vitamin D, BMD and the percentage of stenosis. Moreover, we did not find a crosssectional association between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and serum calcidiol or the percentage of stenosis. Our results did not evidence a protective role of vitamin D on cardiovascular system. Despite the absence of statistically significant results, the cross-sectional design of this study does not rule out the effect of vitamin D on cardiovascular system over time.