malihe moammerisalahshooh

Vitamin D3 deficiency, which is associated with several other diseases such as high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) is prevalent all over the world.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D3 deficiency and MetS and evaluate their association in patients referred to the central laboratory of Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR) in Mashahd, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,214 patients aged 15 - 75 years referred to the central laboratory of ACECR in Mashhad, Iran, in 2018. Participants with MetS were identified using the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) criteria. Biochemical parameters and vitamin D3 levels were assessed using the Mindray instrument and the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, respectively. The subjects were divided into four groups in terms of serum vitamin D3 concentration as follows: Deficient (< 10 ng/mL), insufficient (10 - 30 ng/mL), sufficient (30 - 80 ng/mL), and toxic (80 < ng/mL).

From a total of 1,214 subjects, 15.0% had vitamin D3 deficiency, 53.2% showed insufficiency, 31.1% were normal with sufficient vitamin D3, and 0.7% suffered from vitamin D3 toxicity. Therefore, 437 (49.7%) females and 209 (62.6%) males suffered from vitamin D3 insufficiency. Overall, 27.6% of females and 33.2% of males had MetS (P < 0.05). Subjects with and without MetS showed no significant difference in serum levels of vitamin D3 (P = 0.608). In addition, there was a significant direct correlation between vitamin D3 levels and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the group with MetS.

A high proportion of subjects had MetS and insufficient vitamin D3 levels. There were no significant differences between the serum vitamin D3 levels in participants with and without MetS.

Reports have shown that lipoprotein (Lp) (a) can serve as an indicator of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Several cardiovascular disease risk factors including age, ethnicity and type 2 diabetes mellitus have been linked to Lp(a) metabolism. Given the structural similarity between Lp (a) and plasminogen, there may be a relationship between Lp (a) level and thrombosis and atherogenesis. In this review, we summarize the latest data about Lp (a) and related conditions on the PubMed database using the following keywords: “Lp (a) and diseases” and “Lp (a) and racial groups”. All available information was extracted and categorized according to the purpose of this study. In conclusion, evidence suggest that increased level of Lp (a) results in coronary artery disease and increases the risk of ischemic stroke. Lack of Lp (a) has no adverse effect on human health. Moreover, Lp(a) can be effective in wound healing as it degrades apolipoprotein(a) products which might have anti-tumor and anti-angiogenetic effects.