Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Cardiometabolic Risks and Health-Related Quality of Life among Urban Premenopausal Women in a Tropical Country – A Randomized Controlled Trial
What this study found
Vitamin D supplementation safely corrected vitamin D deficiency and lowered parathyroid hormone, but it did not meaningfully improve cardiometabolic risk factors. At 12 months, 25(OH)D rose to 85.74 nmol/l versus 36.09 nmol/l with placebo, with a mean difference of 49.54 (43.94 to 55.14), and PTH was 4.19 pmol/l versus 5.22 pmol/l, with a mean difference of -1.02 (-1.67 to 20.38). There were no meaningful differences in BMI, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, or HDL-C. The regimen also improved some health-related quality-of-life domains, especially vitality and mental…
- Study & population
- Randomized controlled trial in urban premenopausal women with vitamin D deficiency working at a public university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Intervention
- Oral cholecalciferol 50,000 IU powder diluted in warm water, given once weekly for 8 weeks and then once monthly for 10 months, for a total treatment duration of 12 months, versus placebo.
- Key limitation
- The trial was limited to a single urban population of mostly Malay, generally healthy premenopausal women, which restricts generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background Many observational studies linked vitamin D to cardiometabolic risks besides its pivotal role in musculoskeletal diseases, but evidence from trials is lacking and inconsistent. Aim To determine whether Vitamin D supplementation in urban premenopausal women with vitamin D deficiency can improve cardiometabolic risks and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Design A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 192 vitamin D deficient (<50 nmol/l) premenopausal women were randomized to receive either vitamin D 50,000 IU or placebo once a week for 2 months and then monthly for 10 months. Primary outcomes were serum 25(OH)D, serum lipid profiles, blood pressure and HOMA-IR measured at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. HRQOL was assessed with SF-36 at baseline and 12 months. Results Ninety three and ninety-nine women were randomised into intervention and placebo groups respectively. After 12 months, there were significant differences in the serum 25(OH)D concentration (mean difference: 49.54; 95% CI: 43.94 to 55.14) nmol/l) and PTH levels (mean difference: −1.02; 95% CI: −1.67 to −0.38 pmol/l) in the intervention group compared to placebo group. There was significant difference between treatment group in both serum 25(OH)D and PTH. There was no effect of supplementation on HOMA-IR, serum lipid profiles and blood pressure (all p>0.05) between two groups. There was a small but significant improvement in HRQOL in the components of vitality (mean difference: 5.041; 95% CI: 0.709 to 9.374) and mental component score (mean difference: 2.951; 95% CI: 0.573 to 5.329) in the intervention group compared to placebo group. Conclusion Large and less frequent dosage vitamin D supplementation was safe and effective in the achievement of vitamin D sufficiency. However, there was no improvement in measured cardiometabolic risk factors in premenopausal women. Conversely vitamin D supplementation improves some components of HRQOL. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12612000452897