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Vitamin D prevents artery clogging in diabetics
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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People with diabetes have an increased risk of clogged blood vessels that can lead to heart disease. A study from the University of Washington School of Medicine suggests that this is due to low levels of vitamin D in the body.
Scientists say blood vessels are less likely to become clogged in diabetics who get adequate vitamin D, while in patients with vitamin D deficiency, cholesterol is much more likely to cause blocked blood vessels.
"There are currently about 26 million Americans with type 2 diabetes," says lead researcher Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi. "As the number of people with obesity increases, the number of diabetics is likely to increase. These patients are more susceptible to heart disease caused by clogged arteries. So we wanted to find out why."
Bernal-Mizrachi and colleagues had previously found that vitamin D seemed to have a powerful effect on the heart and its health. Now, the scientists have gone one step further by finding that when levels of vitamin D are low in the body, a certain type of white blood cell is more likely to stick to the walls of blood vessels, causing them to clog.
Vitamin D affects immune cells called macrophages. These macrophages start out as circulating white blood cells called monocytes. But when monocytes encounter inflammation, they turn into macrophages and stop circulating.
To conduct the study, scientists selected 43 people with type 2 diabetes and 25 people of similar age, gender and weight, but without diabetes.
After adjusting for confounding factors that could influence the study results, the researchers found that in diabetics with a vitamin D deficiency, macrophages were more likely to linger on the walls of blood vessels, causing cholesterol to accumulate in those areas and eventually causing a blockage that blocks blood flow.
Now the scientists are starting the next phase of their research. They will have to find out whether taking vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis in diabetics.
The ultimate goal of the scientists is to create a new drug that would effectively combat clogged blood vessels.