Submitted By Clinical Infectious Diseases
Vitamin D deficiency more than doubled the risk of silent coronary artery disease (CAD) in HIV-positive African Americans, according to results of a 674-person study.
Research suggests that vitamin D deficiency is associated with CAD, and cardiovascular disease has become more prevalent as HIV-positive people survive longer thanks to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART). But the impact of vitamin D deficiency on CAD in HIV-positive African Americans had not been characterized until this study of 25- to 54-year-old HIV-positive African Americans in Baltimore, Maryland.
The investigators used computed tomographic (CT) coro-nary angiography to assess coronary stenosis (narrowing) in study participants without symptoms or clinical evidence of CAD. The researchers defined significant coronary stenosis as 50 percent or greater blockage. They defined vitamin D deficiency as a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level below 10 ng/mL.
“Both vitamin D deficiency and silent CAD are prevalent in HIV-infected African Americans,” the researchers conclude. “In addition to management of traditional CAD risk factors and substance abuse,” they advise, “vitamin D deficiency should be evaluated in HIV-infected African Americans.”
Source: Hong Lai, Gary Gerstenblith, Elliot K. Fishman, Jeffrey Brinker, Thomas Kickler, Wenjing Tong, Sundeepan Bhatia, Tai Hong, Shaoguang Chen, Ji Li, Barbara Detrick, Shenghan Lai. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with silent coronary artery disease in cardiovascularly asymptomatic African Americans with HIV infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2012; 54: 1747-1755.
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