Long Term Association between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Mortality in a Cohort of 4379 Men

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 17;11(3):e0151441. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151441. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Objective: A number of observational studies have shown an inverse association between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D and total mortality, but a reverse J-shaped association has also been reported. In a large nested case-control study, serum-25-hydroxyvitamin D (s-25(OH)D) was positively associated with incident prostate cancer. Based on the same study population, the primary aim of the present study was to investigate the association between s-25(OH)D and total mortality.

Methods: Men participating in population based health screenings during 1981-1991 and enrolled in a nested case-control study were followed throughout 2007 with respect to all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results: In men with prostate cancer (n = 2282), there was a significant inverse association between s-25(OH)D and total mortality after controlling for potential confounders (HR = 1.25 (95% CI 1.05-1.50), s-25(OH)D <50 nmol/l versus s-25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/l). The corresponding figure among controls (n = 2147) was HR = 1.15 (95% CI 0.88-1.50) and in the total study population HR = 1.19 (95% CI 1.03-1.38). For cause-specific deaths, we found no significant associations.

Conclusions: In this study population, s-25(OH)D was inversely associated with total mortality during more than two decades of follow-up, despite, as previous reported, high s-25(OH)D was associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Animals
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cause of Death
  • Cohort Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / blood*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Risk Assessment / methods*
  • Risk Assessment / statistics & numerical data
  • Risk Factors
  • Survival Rate
  • Time Factors
  • Vitamin D / analogs & derivatives*
  • Vitamin D / blood

Substances

  • Vitamin D
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D

Grants and funding

The serum analysis of vitamins was supported by a grant from the Norwegian Cancer Society and the Throne Holst Foundation. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.