Abstract P416: Low Vitamin D does not correlate with Cardiometabolic Risk in African Immigrants

Controversy exists as to whether low vitamin D levels contribute to the development of cardiometabolic disease. As African descent populations have a high prevalence of low vitamin D levels and cardiometabolic disease, clarification is important. However, current cross-sectional studies linking low vitamin D concentrations to cardiometabolic disease not only provide conflicting results, data specifically on people of African descent is very limited. Therefore, we evaluated the association between vitamin D levels, measured as 25(OH)D, and cardiometabolic risk factors in 78 African immigrants (77% male, age 35±y (mean±SD) age range 22-63y). Participants had oral glucose tolerance tests, insulin sensitivity index (S I ) determined with the minimal model and abdominal computerized tomographic scans to measure visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Cardiometabolic risk factors were related to 25(OH)D levels by Pearson correlations and one-way ANOVA across quartiles of 25(OH)D. Mean 25(OH)D levels were 22±7, range 10-36 ng/mL. BMI was 27.9±4.4 kg/m2 and 74% of Africans were either overweight or obese. Nine percent had newly identified diabetes and 33% had pre-diabetes. Mean arterial BP was 88±10 mmHg and 44% of Africans had either pre-hypertension or hypertension. Cardiometabolic variables did not change across quartiles of 25(OH)D (Table). In addition, there were no significant correlations between 25(OH)D and the cardiometabolic variables listed in the Table (all r<0.2, all P >0.1). As cardiometabolic risk factors do not become more severe as 25(OH)D levels decline, vitamin D may not modulate cardiometabolic risk in people of African descent.