Sun and colleagues evaluated the associations between both dietary and supplemental vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk. Researchers evaluated data on 74,272 women and 44,592 men who were initially heart disease and cancer-free from the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2006) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2006). After about a 20 year follow-up period, 9,886 cases of coronary heart disease and stroke were documented. The researchers found a 16% reduction in heart disease among men who met the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) of vitamin D of at least 600 IU per day, as compared to men with daily intakes of less than 100 IU. The researchers found that men who consumed larger amounts of vitamin D had a decreased risk of heart disease. There was no association between vitamin D intake and heart disease risk for women. (31)
