WASHINGTON, DC – In recent years supplementation with Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who are deficient in the vitamin. Now new research from the Georgia Prevention Institute at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta indicates that supplementation with the “sunshine vitamin” may be particularly beneficial for overweight African-American adults, a population at increased risk for both CVD and Vitamin D deficiency.
According to Ryan A. Harris, PhD, assistant professor, the Georgia team’s research suggests that Vitamin D supplementation cut the cardiovascular risk by improving the health and function of vascular endothelial cells, cells that line the inside of blood vessels. He will discuss the team’s findings at the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting (EB 2011), being held April 9-13, 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The presentation is entitled “Vitamin D Improves Flow-Mediated Dilation in African American Adults.”
A Population at Risk
African-Americans as a group have multiple risk factors for CVD. They are more likely than people of other races to develop type 2 diabetes, a known contributor to CVD, and when they develop high blood pressure it tends to be more severe than that of other groups. African-Americans also have a greater risk of developing Vitamin D deficiency: The pigmentation in their skin inhibits their skin cells’ ability to produce Vitamin D in response to exposure to sunlight.
