Vitamin D Supplementation Improves Lipid Profile in Patients on Statins
A recently epublished study reports that vitamin D supplementation in addition to statin pharmaceutical treatment lowers lipid levels better that statins alone in subjects with elevated cholesterol. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, from 1988-1994 to 2005-2008, the use of statin drugs by adults 45 years of age and older increased 10-fold, from two percent to 25 percent. Among individuals 65-74 years of age, one-half of men and more than one-third of women reported taking a statin drug in the past 30 days in 2005-2008.
The researchers randomly assigned 56 subjects to receive 2,000 IU vitamin D daily or placebo in addition to their current statin medication. The investigators measured lipid levels at the beginning of the study and again after one, three, and six months.
Vitamin D supplementation increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Vitamin D supplementation for six months reduced cholesterol and triglycerides. Compared to the placebo group, the vitamin D group experienced a reduction in cholesterol by 22.1 mg/dl and triglycerides by 28.2 mg/dl after six months of supplementation. Among the subjects with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of less than 30 ng/ml at the beginning of the study, total cholesterol decreased by an average of 28.5 mg/dl and triglycerides by 37.1 mg/dl.
The study authors concluded, “Vitamin D supplementation might improve serum lipid levels in statin-treated patients with hypercholesterolemia. It might be an adjuvant therapy for patients with hypercholesterolemia.”
Reference:
Qin XF, et al. Clin Nutr. 2014 May 2. pii: S0261-5614(14)00125-3. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2014.04.017
