Background: Recent evidence indicates that a lower plasma level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 OHD) is associated with a higher risk of the metabolic syndrome. It has not been studied in older people with a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency.
Objective: This study investigates the association between vitamin D status and the metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling older persons in the Netherlands.
Design and patients: The study is part of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, an ongoing cohort study in a representative sample of Dutch older persons. A total of 1286 subjects (629 men and 657 women) between the ages of 65 and 88 years participated in the study.
Measurements: Metabolic syndrome (U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program definition) and its individual components were assessed as well as serum 25 OHD levels.
Results: Among the participants, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 37·0%. The mean 25 OHD level was 53·3 nM; 47·8% had 25 OHD levels below 50 nM. There was a significantly increased risk of the metabolic syndrome in the subjects with serum 25 OHD levels below 50 nM, compared with that of subjects with levels over 50 nM [odds ratio (OR) = 1·54; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·23-1·94]. After adjustment for confounders, age, sex, season, years of education, alcohol use, total activity, smoking and PTH, the OR was 1·29 (95% CI 1·00-1·68). The association between vitamin D deficiency and the metabolic syndrome was mainly determined by the components low HDL and (high) waist circumference.
Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is common in the older population in the Netherlands, and subjects with serum 25 OHD below 50 nM have a higher risk of the metabolic syndrome.
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.