Racial Difference In Vitamin D Levels

While reading about cardiovascular issues and Peripheral Artery Disease, I learned something new from a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the Department of Epidemiology.

Peripheral Artery disease (PAD) can affect the arteries, the veins or the lymph vessels. PAD, affects about 8 million Americans. It becomes more common as one gets older, and by age 65, about 12 to 20 percent of the population has it. Diagnosis is critical, as people with PAD have a four to five time higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

The Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research in Baltimore Md. studied racial differences in cardiovascular risk factors for Peripheral Artery Disease between Black and White Adults.

They tried to determine whether extra risks were due to lower levels of Vitamin D in one group or the other. Existing documentation pointed out that typically vitamin D levels were lower in blacks than in whites.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ran from 2001–2004. It included 2987 white and 866 black persons in their 40s.

They concluded that racial differences in vitamin D status may explain nearly one-third of the excess risk of PAD in black compared with white adults.

Additional research is needed to confirm these findings, but it points out again to me the importance of vitamin D in my diet. What I didn’t know was that there was a racial difference in vitamin D levels. So if you are black and reading this blog, take extra care to get enough of this important vitamin, and help reduce your chances of PAD down the road.