title: A prospective study of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels and mortality among African Americans and non-African Americans.
abstract: The beneficial biologic effects attributed to vitamin D suggest a potential to influence overall mortality. Evidence addressing this hypothesis is limited, especially for African Americans who have a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency. The authors conducted a nested case-control study within the prospective Southern Community Cohort Study to relate baseline serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) with subsequent mortality. Cases were 1,852 participants who enrolled from 2002 to 2009 and died >12 months postenrollment. Controls (n = 1,852) were matched on race, sex, age, enrollment site, and blood collection date. The odds ratios for quartile 1 (<10.18 ng/mL) versus quartile 4 (>21.64 ng/mL) levels of 25(OH)D were 1.60 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 2.14) for African Americans and 2.11 (95% CI: 1.39, 3.21) for non-African Americans. The effects were strongest for circulatory disease death, where quartile 1 versus quartile 4 odds ratios were 2.53 (95% CI: 1.44, 4.46) and 3.25 (95% CI: 1.33, 7.93) for African Americans and non-African Americans, respectively. The estimated odds of total mortality were minimized in the 25(OH)D range of 35-40 ng/mL. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that vitamin D status may have an important influence on mortality for both African Americans and non-African Americans.
authors.affiliation: International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA. Signorello@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Lisa B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Signorello
authors.forename: Xijing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Qiuyin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Sarah S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Elizabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Cope
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Blot
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D