Childhood vitamin D levels linked to carotid IMT in adulthood

[helvella]

In our subsidiary role as Vitamin D.UK...

IMT = en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intim...

And do bear in mind how much relationship there appears to be between T3 and the fine structure of blood vessels.

Childhood vitamin D levels linked to carotid IMT in adulthood

Juonala M, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;doi:10.1210/jc.2014-3944.

February 10, 2015

Subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood was associated with low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in childhood, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Markus Juonala, MD, PhD, of the University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues evaluated data from 2,148 participants in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study collected in 1980 when they were aged 3 to 18 years and again in 2007 when they were aged 30 to 45 years to determine the effect of low 25-(OH)D levels in childhood on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in adulthood.

Baseline and follow-up concentrations of 25-(OH)D were found to have a significant correlation in men (P < .0001) and women (P < .0001). Overall, 39% of men and 31% of women remained in the lowest quartile of 25-(OH)D into adulthood. Carotid plaque was found in 2.5% of participants. Men had mean IMT measurements of 0.644 mm, and mean IMT measurements were 0.613 mm in women (P < .0001).

After adjustment for age, sex and childhood risk factors, an inverse relation was found between childhood 25-(OH)D levels and adulthood IMT in women (P = .03), but not in men (P = .88).

Participants with 25-(OH)D levels in the lowest quartile during childhood (< 40 nmol/L) had a greater increased risk of high-risk IMT as adults compared with those not in the lowest quartile (P < .001).

“Our results showed an association between low 25-(OH)D levels in childhood and increased occurrence of subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood,” Juonala said in a press release. “The association was independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors including serum lipids, blood pressure, smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity indices and socioeconomic status.”

Juonala noted that more studies are needed “to investigate whether low vitamin D levels have a causal role in the development of increased carotid artery thickness.

“Nevertheless, our observations highlight the importance of providing children with a diet that includes sufficient vitamin D,” he said. – by Amber Cox

healio.com/endocrinology/bo...

Rod

[Spareribs]

Intima-media thickness

I may have that... I'll read-on...

Oh yeah - 2 minutes in & it's all about the base - sunshine - trips off dee-dee like......

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Spareribs]

You ain't fick, that's for sure.

[Spareribs in reply to helvella]

not this saturday anyway...

on another note - our school is now bombarded with vaccines galore (cheaper/more efficient to target all kids at once - we have no choice we are venue)

- if ONLY they'd give them a little boost of vit D instead, makes me so sad....

healthystart.nhs.uk/food-an...

[Marz in reply to Spareribs]

Don't think that leaflet on the link goes quite far enough - do you ? It's a start - but they are talking on grassrootshealth.net about doses being 7000 IU's daily for adults. They have a campaign to influence the powers that be in the US to increase the minimum dosage....

[Spareribs in reply to Marz]

Marz, No it doesn't go far enough at all, but is NHS recognition of the importance of vitamins in pregnancy and for babies.

And exposure to Sunshine - parents daren't let kids out in the Sun for 5 minutes without sunblock - what's happened, has the sun suddenly got stronger?

Meanwhile here's a Scottish Vit D leaflet....

healthscotland.com/uploads/...

Rod - yes Vit D posts are getting more popular (also other HU communities) - is the message getting through yet?

[Marz in reply to Spareribs]

Thank you for the link - will read later x

The message is getting through ...

[Clutter in reply to Marz]

Marz, I had loading and maintenance doses for vitD <10 Nov-Jan 2013 and then level was >100. Self-supplemented 5,000iu Mar-Dec 2014 and vitD was 384 (75-200) so not sure 7,000iu is a good idea unless people test every 4/6 months as vitD toxicity can cause kidney, bladder, gall stones.

Incidentally, my calcium wasn't checked when given loading doses but will be in May when TFT and vitD is retested.

[Marz in reply to Clutter]

Yes of course you are correct to be cautious.....did you look at the website .... grassrootshealth.net where the campaign is going along for 7000 IU's daily ?

[Clutter in reply to Marz]

Marz, not recently, I will later. It was unusual my level was so high on 5,000iu apparently. I went from empty to overfull but didn't have any side effects, happily.

[Marz in reply to Clutter]

Maybe you needed that amount. As we so often say we are all individuals. I think the side effects have been reported by those that toe the line about 800 IU's a day.....who knows. I take 10,000 IU;s daily as I have read it is good as an anti-inflammatory et al for Crohns. Having taken 'drugs 'in the past I can assure everyone I would rather take big doses of D....

Glad you didn't have side-effects

[Clutter in reply to Marz]

Marz, I'm the only one I'm aware of who seems to have gone from deficient to over the top and I've read it's unusual to do so on less than 8,000iu daily. I haven't had regular monitoring and its only since being diagnosed with mild osteopenia in June that endo is monitoring now. He told me 2 years ago that the vits/mins would be fine because FBC was good. 3 months later I persuaded a trainee GP (they like testing) and vitD and folate were deficient and ferritin high. B12 was low within range.

[Marz in reply to Clutter]

Another reason we have to keep an eye out for the detail. It seems we have to keep repeating the points about good vits and minerals. I have only learnt from here - so hope others will too.

Thanks Clutter....

[Marz]

thefatemperor.com/blog/2014...

Thanks Rod. The above video talks about the D levels in expectant Mums and also the D levels in children up to 16 set the scene for illness later in life....so important to have optimal levels from cradle to grave....

[crimple]

Thanks Rod, another very interesting item. No doubt explains the higher incidences of cardiovascular disease in our friends north of the border. They have lower Vit D levels across the country compared to "southerners" if my hypothyroid memory is correct!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to crimple]

I bought some decent oral vitamin D3 supplements for a family member who lives in the far north of Scotland. I think that as her GP had not prescribed them they probably ended up in the dustbin...

Also odd in my post:

“Nevertheless, our observations highlight the importance of providing children with a diet that includes sufficient vitamin D,” he said.

So few foods contain more than trace levels of D3, except when "fortified", I suspect he is either meaning cereals so fortified or, as in the USA but not the UK, fortified milk. Really, oral supplements are the only way to go if you cannot get enough sunshine.