The Role of Vitamin D in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health

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About this Research Topic

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Background

Interest in vitamin D has grown significantly since numerous studies have suggested that besides its well-established roles in bone metabolism and immunity, vitamin D status is inversely associated with the incidence of several metabolic diseases and conditions, including obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome (MetS), dyslipidemia, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and cardiovascular disease. However, inconsistent findings exist, and cause/effect relationships still need to be confirmed. The relationship of vitamin D with metabolic disorders seems to be bidirectional. For example, obesity can worsen vitamin D deficiency, and vice versa, vitamin D deficiency can aggravate obesity and related metabolic complications (insulin resistance, defects in insulin secretion, disordered metabolism of lipids, hepatic steatosis, and gut dysbiosis) by multiple mechanisms, many of which still remain undiscovered and unclarified. Since many inconsistent findings and controversies exist regarding relationships of vitamin D with metabolic and cardiovascular disorders (particularly related to causality and mechanisms of these relationships) much more research is needed in these fields.

Additionally, available research indicates that in the aforementioned disorders and diseases there is also disrupted immune function, associated with chronic inflammation. This is of high importance in the current COVID-19 pandemic, where more severe courses of disease, worse prognosis, and prolonged recovery have been observed in infected COVID-19 patients with previously diagnosed metabolic and cardiovascular disease. In parallel, there is evidence of impaired vitamin D status in patients with more severe COVID-19, and the potential role of vitamin D in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has been proposed.

This Research Topic will therefore focus on research considering the pathophysiological pathways of relationships between vitamin D and metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, as well as epidemiological research in specific population groups. We also encourage submissions considering Vitamin D as immunomodulator and one of supporting therapeutics in patients with previously diagnosed cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. We welcome both original research articles and reviews of recent scientific papers, as well as human (epidemiological and interventional), animal and cell-cultures studies. Themes that will be addressed include, but are not limited to:
• Vitamin D and cardiometabolic risk in specific populations.
• Personalised and subgroup-based responses to vitamin D supplementation.
• The role of vitamin D in prevention and treatment of a range of cardiometabolic diseases and conditions (including obesity, centripetal obesity insulin resistance, MetS, dyslipidemia, diabetes, NAFLD, polycystic ovary syndrome - PCOS, hypertension, atherosclerosis, myocardial hypertrophy, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.)
• Specific pathophysiological pathways of bidirectional relationship between vitamin D status and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (including genetic, epigenetic, and molecular mechanisms).
• Confounding factors which modulate these relationships;
• The role of vitamin D in immunity in metabolic and cardiovascular disorders;
• Links between vitamin D, cardiometabolic disorders and COVID-19.

Keywords: vitamin D, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, NAFLD, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cardiometabolic health

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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