Vitamin D linked to heart attack risk

A new study has found that men who have lower levels of vitamin D could have an increased risk of a heart attack.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health studied the blood samples of over 450 men who had suffered a non-fatal heart attack or had a fatal heart disease.

All of the results from these tests were then compared with samples from 900 men with no history of cardiovascular disease.

The findings showed that those who had a vitamin D deficiency, of less than 15 nanograms per millilitre of blood, showed a higher risk of heart attack than those with 30 nanograms per millilitre, which is classed as vitamin D sufficiency.

The authors published their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and concluded by saying: "Vitamin D deficiency has been related to an increasing number of conditions and to total mortality."

Vitamin D was recently linked to type one diabetes in children.

Scientists at the University of California found that people living in areas of abundant sunshine had a lower rate of type one diabetes that those where sunlight is scarcer, reports the Sun-Sentinel.com.