title: Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with coronary artery tortuosity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing evidence suggests a relationship between vitamin D (VD) insufficiency and cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH VD) with coronary tortuosity (CT) in patients with normal or near-normal (< 40% stenosis) coronary arteries.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was cross-sectional and observational. We enrolled 356 consecutive patients who had undergone coronary angiography for suspected ischaemic heart disease and were found to have normal or near-normal coronary arteries. Patients were categorised as VD insufficient (< 30 ng/mL) or VD sufficient (≥ 30 ng/dL). CT was defined as the presence of ≥ three bends (defined as ≥ 45° change in vessel direction) along the main trunk of at least one coronary artery, present both in systole and in diastole.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study populations were divided into two groups according to the presence of CT: patients with CT (n = 103, 29%) and patients without CT (NCT; n = 253, 71%). CT is more frequently seen in elderly women and is positively correlated with hypertension. The incidence of VD insufficiency was significantly higher in the CT group (n = 46, 45%) than in the NCT group (n = 90, 36%; p = 0.005). In further multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjustment for major clinical parameters affecting CT showed statistically significant correlations between 25-OH VD and CT (odds ratio = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66-0.98, p = 0.006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vitamin D insufficiency was independently associated with coronary tortuosity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Adana Numune Training and Research Hospital, Adana, Turkey. fahrettin_oz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Fahrettin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oz
authors.forename: Ahmet Yasar
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Cizgici
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Topuz
authors.forename: Onur Kadir
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Uysal
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.forename: Oguz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akkuş
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D
keywords: biomarkers; coronary angiography; coronary artery disease; coronary tortuosity; vitamin D insufficiency