Published online August 3, 2009
PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0213)

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Google Scholar Articles by Reis, J. P. Articles by Appel, L. J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Reis, J. P. Articles by Appel, L. J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Articles

Vitamin D Status and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in the United States Adolescent Population

Jared P. Reis, PhD^a, Denise von Mühlen, MD, PhD^b, Edgar R. Miller, III, MD, PhD^a, Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS^c and Lawrence J. Appel, MD, MPH^a

^aWelch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland;
^bDepartment of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California;
^cDivision of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

Objective Evidence on the association of vitamin D with cardiovascular risk factors in youth is very limited. We examined whether low serum vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]) are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in US adolescents aged 12 to 19 years.

Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 3577 fasting, nonpregnant adolescents without diagnosed diabetes who participated in the 2001–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Cardiovascular risk factors were measured using standard methods and defined according to age-modified Adult Treatment Panel III definitions.

Results Mean 25(OH)D was 24.8 ng/mL; it was lowest in black (15.5 ng/mL), intermediate in Mexican American (21.5 ng/mL), and highest in white (28.0 ng/mL) adolescents (P < .001 for each pairwise comparison). Low 25(OH)D levels were strongly associated with overweight status and abdominal obesity (P for trend < .001 for both). After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, socioeconomic status, and physical activity, 25(OH)D levels were inversely associated with systolic blood pressure (P = .02) and plasma glucose concentrations (P = .01). The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for those in the lowest (<15 ng/mL) compared with the highest quartile (>26 ng/mL) of 25(OH)D for hypertension was 2.36 (1.33–4.19); for fasting hyperglycemia it was 2.54 (1.01–6.40); for low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol it was 1.54 (0.99–2.39); for hypertriglyceridemia it was 1.00 (0.49–2.04); and for metabolic syndrome it was 3.88 (1.57–9.58).

Conclusions Low serum vitamin D in US adolescents is strongly associated with hypertension, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome, independent of adiposity.

Key Words: cardiovascular • children • dietary supplements

Abbreviations: 1,25(OH)₂D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D

---

Accepted Apr 10, 2009.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				We Need to Put Vitamin D Back in Children and Adolescents Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, November 4, 2009; 2009(1104): 1 - 1. [Full Text]