Vitamin D and its effects on glucose homeostasis, cardiovascular function and immune function.
In recent years there has been increasing interest in the non-skeletal effects of vitamin D. It has been suggested that vitamin D deficiency may influence the development of diabetes, cardiovascular dysfunction and autoimmune diseases. This review focuses on the current knowledge of the effects of vitamin D and its deficiency on cardiovascular function, glucose homeostasis and immune function, with a particular focus on children. Although, there is good evidence to show that there is an association between vitamin D deficiency and an abnormality of the above systems, there is little evidence to show that vitamin D supplementation leads to an improvement in function, especially in childhood.
School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, UK.
N
N
El-Fakhri
H
H
McDevitt
M G
MG
Shaikh
C
C
Halsey
S F
SF
Ahmed
D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000187:drug effects; D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000378:metabolism; D004872:Ergocalciferols; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000187:drug effects; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000502:physiology*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology*
D004872:Ergocalciferols; D014807:Vitamin D; D002762:Cholecalciferol; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D; D005947:Glucose