title: Vitamin D status is not related to development of atrial fibrillation in the community.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common and is an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Vitamin D is an emerging risk factor in cardiovascular disease, and vitamin D status is modifiable. Thus, we sought to investigate whether vitamin D status predisposed to the development of AF in a community-based sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the relation between vitamin D status and development of AF in 2,930 participants of the Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts, USA, without prevalent AF. The mean age was 65 ± 11 years, and 56% were women. Vitamin D status was assessed by measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations. Multivariable Cox regression models were adjusted for AF risk factors and season.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During a mean follow-up of 9.9 years, 425 participants (15%) developed AF. In Cox proportional hazards models, 25(OH)D was not associated with development of AF, with a multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio of 0.99 per SD increment in 25(OH)D levels (95% CI 0.88-1.10, P = .81). Also, no relation was found in models including 25(OH)D as a dichotomous variable (above and below the cohort-specific 20th percentile; P = .59).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our community-based sample, vitamin D status was not related to incident AF. Our data suggest that vitamin D deficiency does not promote the development of AF in the ambulatory setting.
authors: Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
authors: Michiel
authors: M
authors: Rienstra
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Cheng
authors: Martin G
authors: MG
authors: Larson
authors: Elizabeth L
authors: EL
authors: McCabe
authors: Sarah L
authors: SL
authors: Booth
authors: Paul F
authors: PF
authors: Jacques
authors: Steven A
authors: SA
authors: Lubitz
authors: Xiaoyan
authors: X
authors: Yin
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Levy
authors: Jared W
authors: JW
authors: Magnani
authors: Patrick T
authors: PT
authors: Ellinor
authors: Emelia J
authors: EJ
authors: Benjamin
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D