Since their discovery by Japanese researchers in the early 1970s, statin drugs have become the most widely prescribed drugs in history. Because vitamin D is synthesized from cholesterol, the effect of statins on vitamin D status has been a subject of concern. Recent research has revealed mixed results on the relationship between statin drugs and vitamin D levels in the blood.
Stains Increase Vitamin D
Some statins may raise vitamin D levels in the blood, according to a study conducted at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut and published in the December 2010 "Atherosclerosis" journal. Authors of the meta-analysis -- a review of previously published research -- reported that, while vitamin D deficiency can cause the type of muscle pain that may occur as a side effect of statin drugs, some studies show that statins increase vitamin D levels and lack of sufficient evidence exists associating vitamin D deficiency with statin-associated muscle pain.
Different Drug Effects
The statin drug rosuvastatin caused an increase in vitamin D levels, while the drug fluvastatin had no effect on vitamin D status, according to a study conducted at Kecioren Teaching and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. In the study, published in the March 2010 "Cardiovascular Therapeuics" journal, patients were given 10 mg of resuvastatin or 80 mg of fluvastatin per day for 8 weeks. In addition to the different effects on vitamin D, resuvastatin was significantly more effective at lowering total cholesterol and LDL -- the bad cholesterol -- than fluvastatin.
Vitamin D and Cholesterol
Statins don't influence vitamin D status, but vitamin D may influence lipids according to a study conducted at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. In the study, postmenopausal women were given 40 mg per day of the statin drug simvastatin and blood levels of vitamin D were checked after 26 and 52 weeks. Simvastatin lowered cholesterol but did not have any effect on vitamin D, report the authors of the study, published in the 2010 "International Journal of Endocrinology." The researchers noted that, as levels of triglycerides decreased, levels of vitamin D increased and an inverse relationship also occurred between triglycerides and the seasonal fluctuations in vitamin D levels, suggesting that vitamin D may have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health.
Bone Loss
Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D -- a measure of overall vitamin D status and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D -- the active form of vitamin D -- both increased in patients taking the statin drug rosuvastatin, in a study published in the August 2009 "Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy." The authors of the study, conducted at Kecioren Teaching and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, also noted that levels of the enzyme alkaline phosphatase, which measure the degree of bone loss, were decreased after 8 weeks of resuvastatin therapy, by comparison to a control group that did not receive the drug.
References
- PubMed.gov: The relationship of vitamin D deficiency to statin myopathy; Gupta A,et al.; 2010
- PubMed.gov: STATIN-D Study: Comparison of the Influences of Rosuvastatin and Fluvastatin Treatment on the Levels of 25 Hydroxyvitamin D; Ertugrul DT,et al.; 2010
- "International Journal of Endocrinology": Simvastatin Does Not Affect Vitamin D Status, but Low Vitamin D Levels Are Associated with Dyslipidemia: Results from a Randomised, Controlled Trial; Lars Rejnmark,et al.; 2010
- PubMed.gov: Increased levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D after rosuvastatin treatment: a novel pleiotropic effect of statins?; Yavuz B, et al.; 2009
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