Private MD News

Home | News | Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

Vitamin D deficiency may account for the higher cardiovascular mortality ra

Updated: 2010-01-06 23:30:25 CST Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

by Alex Shoenfeld

According to recent testing, people with darker skin may have an increased risk of stroke and heart disease due to the inherent difficulty of producing vitamin D, which is created through exposure to the sun.

"People with dark skin who live at higher latitudes, where the intensity of sunlight is less, may be at greater risk," said Dr Kevin Fiscella, co-author of the new research, according to Health Day News.

In the study, researchers at the University of California, Davis found that adults who had a vitamin D deficiency had a 40 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death.

When looking at African Americans, researchers found a 38 percent higher incidence of death compared to whites. The majority of that difference was related to low levels of vitamin D, according to the news source.

"We know that people with darker skin have lower vitamin-D levels," Fiscella said to TheHeart.org. "And we know that African Americans have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than the white population."

"In our study, just two factors - poverty and low vitamin-D levels - seemed to explain the higher risk of cardiovascular mortality in the black population," he added.

Related Articles from Private MD:

• Doctors review vitamin D deficiency testing, management practices
  
• New vitamin D deficiency treatment may urge diagnostic tests
  
• Vitamin D deficiency testing reveals children lack essential nutrient
  
• Department of Agriculture combats vitamin D deficiency
  
• Vitamin D tests may prevent flu spread this winter
  

Share on Facebook

Subscribe to Private MD Health News RSS Feed:

News Categories:

Advanced Lipid Treatment I   Allergy Testing   Anemia and RBC disorders   Autoimmune Diseases   Bariatric Lab Testing   Blood and Blood Diseases   Breast   Cancer Detection and Tumor Markers   Celiac Disease Testing   Chlamydia   Coagulation and blood clotting disorders   Colon   Diabetes   DNA, Paternity and Genetic testing   Drug Screening   Environmental Toxin Testing   Female Specific Tests   Gastrointestinal Diseases   General Health   General Wellness   Heart Health and Cholesterol   Herpes   HIV   HIV monitoring/Treatment/Testing/Post Diagnos   Hormones and Metabolism   Infectious Diseases   Infertility Testing-Male   Infertitlity Hormone Testing   Kidney Diseases   Leukemia and WBC disorders   Liver   Liver Diseases   Lyme Disease   Male Specific Tests   Menopause/Peri-Menopausal Diagnosis   Organ Specific Testing   Ovarian   Prostate   Sexually Transmitted Diseases   Thyroid Diseases   Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment   

Visit the Health News Archive: Click Here

Questions about online blood testing or how to order a lab test? Click here to get started or call us toll-free at 1.877.283.7882. Our certified professionals are ready to assist you.