Additional role of serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 levels in atherosclerosis in Chinese middle‐aged and elderly men

Summary Perturbed serum vitamin D levels have been shown to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25(OH)D 3 ) levels and B ultrasonography‐detected carotid plaque and carotid intima–media thickness (C‐IMT) in C hinese middle‐aged and elderly men. In all, 1001 men, aged 45–78 years, were enrolled in the study. Increased C‐IMT was defined as any C‐IMT value in the highest quartile of the study subjects (≥ 0.75 mm). The study population had a median serum 25(OH)D 3 level of 14.51 ng/mL (interquartile range (IQR) 10.84–18.67 ng/mL). Subjects with carotid plaques had lower serum 25(OH)D 3 levels than those without (13.80 (IQR 10.82–17.68) vs 14.74 (IQR 10.87–19.08) ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.029), and decreasing serum 25(OH)D 3 levels were accompanied by increased C‐IMT in both groups (13.24 (IQR 9.91–16.81) vs 14.45 (IQR 11.40–18.51) ng/mL, respectively ( P < 0.05) in those with plaque; 13.80 (IQR 9.99–17.09) vs 14.99 (IQR 11.17–19.43) ng/mL, respectively ( P < 0.01) in those without plaque). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum 25(OH)D 3 levels were independently associated with carotid plaque (odds ratio (OR) 0.972; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.946–0.998; P = 0.032). In addition, serum 25(OH)D 3 levels were identified as an independent protective factor for increased C‐IMT among subjects with plaque (OR 0.900; 95% CI 0.849–0.955; P = 0.001) and those without plaque (OR 0.944; 95% CI 0.908–0.981; P = 0.004). Collectively, these findings suggest that serum 25(OH)D 3 levels are inversely associated with atherosclerosis in C hinese middle‐aged and elderly men.