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25-hydroxyvitamin D levels inversely associate with risk for developing coronary artery calcification. de Boer IH, Kestenbaum B, Shoben AB, Michos ED, Sarnak MJ, Siscovick DS. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Aug;20(8):1805-12. Epub 2009 May 14. PMID: 19443637 doi: 10.1681/ASN.2008111157 "In conclusion, lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations associate with increased risk for incident CAC. Accelerated development of atherosclerosis may underlie, in part, the increased cardiovascular risk associated with vitamin D deficiency."

Vitamin D status and the risk of lung cancer: a cohort study in Finland. Kilkkinen A, Knekt P, Heliövaara M, Rissanen H, Marniemi J, Hakulinen T, Aromaa A. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Nov;17(11):3274-8. PMID: 18990771v In conclusion, although there was no overall association between vitamin D and lung cancer risk, women and young participants with a higher level of vitamin D were observed to have a lower lung cancer risk. Although experimental data support the suppressing effect of vitamin D on the development of lung cancer, large epidemiologic studies from different populations with repeated measurements of vitamin D are warranted to confirm this finding. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):3274-8)

March 11, 2009 -- Low vitamin D levels greatly increase a teenager's risk of diabetes and heart disease, Johns Hopkins researchers find. It is becoming clear that adults who get too little vitamin D are at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease. Now, it appears vitamin D levels also affect these risks earlier in life, say Johns Hopkins researchers Jared P. Reis, PhD, and colleagues.

Low levels of vitamin D may raise a person's risk of premature death, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows. The research followed other recent studies showing low levels of vitamin D are linked to certain cancers, diabetes, and bone and immune system problems, but this is the first research to connect vitamin D deficiency to a higher risk of death

Supplements of vitamin D at 'critical time periods' may be key to reducing the risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a new study from the UK and Canada. Researchers report that vitamin D may interact with a specific genetic component called HLA-DRB1*1501 that is known to increase the risk of multiple sclerosis by three-fold

Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. Cannell JJ, Hollis BW, Zasloff M, Heaney RP. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2008 Jan;9(1):107-18. PMID: 18076342 The recent discovery - in a randomised, controlled trial - that daily ingestion of 1100 IU of colecalciferol (vitamin D) over a 4-year period dramatically reduced the incidence of non-skin cancers makes it difficult to overstate the potential medical, social and economic implications of treating vitamin D deficiency. Not only are such deficiencies common, probably the rule, vitamin D deficiency stands implicated in a host of diseases other than cancer. The metabolic product of vitamin D is a potent, pleiotropic, repair and maintenance, secosteroid hormone that targets > 200 human genes in a wide variety of tissues, meaning it has as many mechanisms of action as genes it targets. A common misconception is that government agencies designed present intake recommendations to prevent or treat vitamin D deficiency. They did not. Instead, they are guidelines to prevent particular metabolic bone diseases. Official recommendations were never designed and are not effective in preventing or treating vitamin D deficiency and in no way limit the freedom of the physician - or responsibility - to do so. At this time, assessing serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D is the only way to make the diagnosis and to assure that treatment is adequate and safe. The authors believe that treatment should be sufficient to maintain levels found in humans living naturally in a sun-rich environment, that is, > 40 ng/ml, year around. Three treatment modalities exist: sunlight, artificial ultraviolet B radiation or supplementation. All treatment modalities have their potential risks and benefits. Benefits of all treatment modalities outweigh potential risks and greatly outweigh the risk of no treatment. As a prolonged 'vitamin D winter', centred on the winter solstice, occurs at many temperate latitudes, ≤ 5000 IU (125 μg) of vitamin D/d

Intake of vitamin D and risk of type 1 diabetes: a birth-cohort study. Hyppönen E, Läärä E, Reunanen A, Järvelin MR, Virtanen SM. Lancet. 2001 Nov 3;358(9292):1500-3. PMID: 11705562 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(01)06580-1 INTERPRETATION: Dietary vitamin D supplementation is associated with reduced risk of type 1 diabetes. Ensuring adequate vitamin D supplementation for infants could help to reverse the increasing trend in the incidence of type 1 diabetes.

An ecologic study of dietary and solar ultraviolet-B links to breast carcinoma mortality rates. Grant WB. Cancer. 2002 Jan 1;94(1):272-81. PMID: 11815987 CONCLUSIONS It is hypothesized that animal products are associated with risk for breast carcinoma because they are associated with greater amounts of insulin-like growth factor-1and lifetime doses of estrogen. Vegetable products contain several risk reduction components including antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The association with latitude is very likely because of solar UV-B radiation and vitamin D. Alcohol modulates estrogen's effects on breasts. Fish intake is associated with risk reduction through vitamin D and n-3 oils. These results are consistent with those of many case-control and cohort studies but should be assessed in well designed cohort studies.

25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 9;168(11):1174-80. PMID: 18541825 Conclusion Low levels of 25(OH)D are associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction in a graded manner, even after controlling for factors known to be associated with coronary artery disease.

Hypovitaminosis D in British adults at age 45 y: nationwide cohort study of dietary and lifestyle predictors. Hyppönen E, Power C. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Mar;85(3):860-8. PMID: 17344510 Conclusion: Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the general population was alarmingly high during the winter and spring, which warrants action at a population level rather than at a risk group level. Data from the 1958 birth cohort suggest that, at different cutoffs for hypovitaminosis D, a substantial public health problem exists in British whites. Obese participants and those living in Scotland were at the highest risk of hypovitaminosis D. However, the prevalence in the general population was very high during the winter and spring, which suggests that, to improve the situation, action is required at a population level rather than at a risk-group level. In the United States, calls have gone out for an increase in vitamin D fortification of foods (11), and the data from the current study suggest that such action is also warranted in the United Kingdom. Vitamin D is currently available without prescription as a dietary supplement only as part of cod liver oil or multivitamin products; hence, a need clearly exists to consider increased availability of over-the-counter supplements. Hypovitaminosis D has been implicated in the development of serious conditions, including diabetes, various types of cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to its essential role in maintaining bone health (1, 2). The high rates of hypovitaminosis D reported in this study suggest that immediate action is needed to improve the vitamin D status of the British population.

The association of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) with reducing risk of cancer: multifactorial ecologic analysis of geographic variation in age-adjusted cancer mortality rates. Grant WB, Garland CF. Anticancer Res. 2006 Jul-Aug;26(4A):2687-99. PMID: 16886679 CONCLUSION: These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that solar UVB, through photosynthesis of vitamin D, is inversely-associated with cancer mortality rates, and that various other cancer risk-modifying factors do not detract from this link. It is thought that sun avoidance practices after 1980, along with improved cancer treatment, led to reduced associations in the latter period. The results regarding solar UVB should be studied further with additional observational and intervention studies of vitamin D indices and cancer incidence, mortality and survival rates.

Comment: Although lower risk associated with vitamin D exposure was shown most consistently for ER+/PR+ tumors, the result might simply reflect that this tumor subtype was the most common. Nonetheless, these findings support vitamin D's beneficial effects on breast cancer risk, regardless of hormone-receptor status. Sun exposure and dietary intake (Table 1) are key sources of vitamin D.

Vitamin D from dietary intake and sunlight exposure and the risk of hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer. Blackmore KM, Lesosky M, Barnett H, Raboud JM, Vieth R, Knight JA. Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Oct 15;168(8):915-24. Epub 2008 Aug 27. PMID: 18756015 doi:10.1093/aje/kwn198 This study suggests that vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer regardless of ER/PR status of the tumor. Future studies with a larger number of receptor-negative and mixed tumors are required.

Use of cod liver oil during the first year of life is associated with lower risk of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes: a large, population-based, case-control study. Stene LC, Joner G; Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Study Group. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Dec;78(6):1128-34. PMID: 14668274 Conclusion: Cod liver oil may reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes, perhaps through the antiinflammatory effects of long-chain n-3 fatty acids.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and colon cancer: eight-year prospective study. Garland CF, Comstock GW, Garland FC, Helsing KJ, Shaw EK, Gorham ED. Lancet. 1989 Nov 18;2(8673):1176-8. PMID: 2572900 Blood samples taken in 1974 in Washington County, Maryland, from 25 620 volunteers were used to investigate the relation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) with subsequent risk of getting colon cancer. 34 cases of colon cancer diagnosed between August, 1975, and January, 1983, were matched to 67 controls by age, race, sex, and month blood was taken. Risk of colon cancer was reduced by 75% in the third quintile (27-32 ng/ml) and by 80% in the fourth quintile (33-41 ng/ml) of serum 25-OHD. Risk of getting colon cancer decreased three-fold in people with a serum 25-OHD concentration of 20 ng/ml or more. The results are consistent with a protective effect of serum 25-OHD on colon cancer.

Review article: vitamin D acquisition and breast cancer risk. Pérez-López FR, Chedraui P, Haya J. Reprod Sci. 2009 Jan;16(1):7-19. Review. PMID: 19144887 DOI: 10.1177/1933719108327595 Conclusions: Although there are controversial results, it seems plausible that sufficient endogenous vitamin D levels may have a protective function on mammary cells, reducing breast cancer risk.

Serum levels of vitamin D metabolites and breast cancer risk in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening trial. Freedman DM, Chang SC, Falk RT, Purdue MP, Huang WY, McCarty CA, Hollis BW, Graubard BI, Berg CD, Ziegler RG. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Apr;17(4):889-94. Epub 2008 Apr 1. PMID: 18381472 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-2594 In this prospective study of postmenopausal women, we did not observe an inverse association between circulating 25(OH)D or 1,25(OH)2D and breast cancer risk, although we cannot exclude an association in younger women or with long-term or earlier exposure

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and risk of incident ovarian cancer. Tworoger SS, Lee IM, Buring JE, Rosner B, Hollis BW, Hankinson SE. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Apr;16(4):783-8. PMID: 17416771 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0981 Overall, our results do not suggest that plasma vitamin D levels are associated with risk of ovarian cancer. However, we observed significant associations in some subgroups, which should be evaluated further in other studies because increasing vitamin D intake is an easy preventive measure to adopt.

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) - Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of incident hypertension among young women. Forman JP, Curhan GC, Taylor EN. Hypertension. 2008 Nov;52(5):828-32. Epub 2008 Oct 6. PMID: 18838623 doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.108.117630 Women in the lowest compared with highest quartile of plasma 25(OH)D had an adjusted odds ratio for incident hypertension of 1.66 (95% CI: 1.11 to 2.48; P for trend=0.01). Compared with women with sufficient levels, those with vitamin D deficiency (<30 ng/mL; 65.7% of the study population) had a multivariable odds ratio of 1.47 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.97). Plasma 25(OH)D levels are inversely and independently associated with the risk of developing hypertension.