Associations between vitamin D deficiency and cardiometabolic risk factors in participants with systemic lupus erythematosus Original paper

In this cross-sectional study, participants with systemic lupus erythematosus who were vitamin D deficient had some cardiovascular risk factors that were worse, but some that were better, compared to participants who were not vitamin D deficient.

The associations between vitamin D deficiency and cardiometabolic risk factors in the context of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The following risk factors were analyzed:

• 5 anthropometric outcomes (weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio, BMI)
• Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels
• Serum lipid levels (HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides, total cholesterol)
• 5 cardiometabolic indexes (e.g., the Castelli index, which is calculated by dividing total cholesterol by HDL-C)

425 women (ages 20–60) living in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, of whom 224 had SLE and 201 had no known health conditions.

In this cross-sectional study, the researchers measured the vitamin D levels of the participants and compared the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency with cardiometabolic risk factors in the participants with SLE and in the participants without SLE (control group).

Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum vitamin D levels less than 20 nanograms per milliliter.

In the participants with SLE, vitamin D deficiency was associated with worsened serum risk factors (HDL-C, triglycerides, hs-CRP) and 3 of 5 cardiometabolic indexes but improved anthropometric risk factors (waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio).

Compared to the participants without known health conditions, the participants with SLE had similar levels of vitamin D.

Data on total cholesterol levels were not reported by the researchers.