Vitamin D may cut risk of dying from heart disease

April 29, 2002 in Heart Health, Nutrition Topics in the News, Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements

Vitamin D may cut risk of dying from heart disease

Women who take vitamin D supplements lower their risk of death from heart disease by one-third, finds a preliminary study from the University of California, San Francisco.

Low levels of vitamin D in the blood have previously been correlated with higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks.

The researchers set out to determine if taking vitamin D supplements decreases this risk. They analyzed data from nearly 10,000 women over the age of 65 who were enrolled in a study of how often osteoporosis causes broken bones.

After following the women for an average of nearly 11 years, they found that the risk of heart disease death was 31% lower in those women who were taking vitamin D at the time of the study.

However, many of the women in the study were taking multivitamins, which may contain other nutrients that affect the risk of heart disease.

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