Takeaway
- Higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations are non-linearly associated with a lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality.
Why this matters
- Findings suggest that thresholds of 45-60 nmol/L may represent a potential target to reduce the risk of premature death, which needs to be confirmed in future randomised controlled trials.
Study design
- This UK Biobank study included 365,530 participants with 25(OH)D measurements and no history of CVD, cancer or diabetes between 2006 and 2010.
- Primary outcome: all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
- Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.
Key results
- During a median follow-up of 8.9 (interquartile range, 8.3-9.5) years, 10,175 deaths were reported, including 1841 (18.1%) from CVD, 5737 (56.4%) from cancer and 2597 (25.5%) from other causes.
- Compared with participants with 25(OH)D <60 nmol/L, those with ≥60 nmol/L had a lower risk of:
- all-cause mortality (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.79-0.86);
- CVD mortality (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.68-0.86); and
- other mortality (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.60-0.73).
- Participants with 25(OH)D ≥45 nmol/L vs those with <45 nmol/L were at a lower risk of cancer mortality (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.95).
- In the cancer-specific analysis, participants with 25(OH)D ≥45 nmol/L had a reduced risk of lung cancer mortality (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.93) compared with those with <45 nmol/L.
Limitations
- Reverse causality cannot be excluded.
This clinical summary first appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
