People with type 2 diabetes are especially susceptible to coronary artery disease. Scientists in Denmark have found that vitamin D deficiency significantly raises that risk. Two hundred people with type 2 diabetes and no diagnosis of heart disease underwent tests of circulating vitamin D levels and coronary calcium accumulation. About 10 percent of these people were deficient in vitamin D. Those with vitamin deficiency were four times more likely to have an elevated coronary calcium score, an indication of plaque in the coronary arteries. They were also nearly three times more likely to have asymptomatic heart disease. The research did not indicate whether correcting the deficiency would lower the risk of heart trouble.
[Diabetes Care, Jan. 2012]
The People's Perspective on Medicine