Vitamin D Deficiency: A Potential Modifiable Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease in Children with Severe Obesity

Abstract

Severe obesity is associated with abnormal lipids and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Obesity is a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency. We examined relationship between 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and lipids in children with severe obesity. Medical records of 376 children were reviewed. Linear regression models and logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between 25(OH)D and lipids after adjustment for age, gender, season of blood draw, body mass index (BMI) z-score, and BMI % of 95th percentile. Two-hundred sixty-three out of 376 children (70%) had 25(OH)D concentrations < 30 ng/mL. Concentrations of 25(OH)D were positively correlated with those of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (r2 = 0.08, r = 0.22, β = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.05–0.27, p = 0.004). HDL-C was lower in children with 25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL (n = 263) compared to those with 25(OH)D ≥ 30 ng/mL (n = 113) (41.3 ± 10.2 vs. 46.4 ± 12 mg/dL, p < 0.0001). Children with 25(OH)D concentrations < 30 ng/mL had greater adjusted odds of low HDL-C (<40 mg/dL) compared with those with 25(OH)D ≥ 30 ng/mL (47.9% vs. 29.2%, OR 2.15 (1.33–3.51), p = 0.0019). Total cholesterol and non-HDL-C were not correlated with 25(OH)D concentrations. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in children with severe obesity. Prospective clinical trials are warranted to determine if vitamin D supplementation can improve HDL-C and potentially decrease risk for cardiovascular disease in children with obesity.

Hypovitaminosis D and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adolescents with Severe Obesity

“…In fact, circulating concentration of 25(OH)D is inversely associated with the severity of obesity [6][7][8]. Data on the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and the different components of metabolic syndrome, both in adults [9][10][11] and children with obesity [12][13][14][15][16] are, at present, inconclusive.…”

The hypolipidemic effects of Tamarindus indica fruit pulp extract in normal and diet‐induced hypercholesterolemic hamsters are associated with altered levels of serum proteins

“…In the present study, the levels of VDBP were apparently elevated in both groups of normal and hypercholesterolemic hamsters fed with Ti‐FPE, with the latter group showing significantly higher values. There appears to be a growing body of evidence that indicates deficiency of vitamin D as one of the risk factors of CVD . Aside from being linked to CVD, vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with inflammation , elevated mean platelet volume , increased vascular stiffness , left ventricular hypertrophy , diabetes and dysregulation of renin production , all of which are cardio‐damaging.…”

Peculiarities of the prevalence and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in overweight and obese adolescents in Ukraine

“…Investigating metabolic abnormalities in children of different ages, researchers identified inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and metabolic factors, in particular, insulin resistance, body mass index, triglyceride levels and total testosterone, and direct relationship with insulin sensitivity 11 .…”