Association between vitamin D deficiency and heart failure risk in the elderly

• Published in: ESC Heart Failure Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 63 - 74
• Main Authors: Porto, Catarina Magalhães, Silva, Vanessa De Lima, Luz, João Soares Brito, Filho, Brivaldo Markman, Silveira, Vera Magalhães
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.02.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brazil - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Elderly; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart failure; Heart Failure - epidemiology; Heart Failure - etiology; Humans; Male; Medical records; Middle Aged; Mortality; Odds Ratio; Original; Original s; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Risk; Risk Factors; Studies; Vitamin D; Vitamin D Deficiency - complications; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Heart failure; Risk; Vitamin D; Elderly
• ISSN: 2055-5822; 2055-5822
• DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.12198

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and risk of heart failure in elderly patients of cardiology outpatient clinics. Methods and results A cross‐sectional study with an analytical approach was employed. Clinical data were collected from the elderly from August 2015 to February 2016. The dependent variable was the risk of heart failure; the independent variable was vitamin D deficiency; and intervening factors were age, gender, education, ethnicity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, renal failure, dementia, stroke, dyslipidaemia, depression, smoking, alcoholism, obesity, andropause, and cardiac arrhythmia. To analyse the association between vitamin D deficiency and risk of heart failure, we used the bivariate logistic analysis, followed by analysis through the multivariate logistic regression model. Of the 137 elderly, the study found the following: women (75.9%); overweight (48.2%); obese (30.6%); increase in the index waist/hip (88.3%); dyslipidaemia (94.2%) and hypertension (91.2%); coronary artery disease (35.0%); and 27.7% with cardiac arrhythmia or left ventricular hypertrophy. Sixty‐five per cent of the elderly were deficient in vitamin D. The risk of heart failure was significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency [odds ratio (OR): 12.19; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.23–35.16; P = 0.000], male gender (OR: 15.32; 95% CI = 3.39–69.20, P = 0.000), obesity (OR: 4.17; 95% CI = 1.36–12.81; P = 0.012), and cardiac arrhythmia (OR: 3.69; 95% CI = 1.23–11.11; P = 0.020). Conclusions There was a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the elderly, and the evidence shows a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of heart failure in this population.