Low vitamin D and K content associated with higher mortality, says study

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A recently published study found that low vitamin D and K status is associated with a higher mortality risk. The study included 4742 participants of the Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease (PREVEND) Study with a mean age of 52 years, and a population that was 53% female. The PREVEND study is a prospective, observational cohort study in which subjects are screened every 3-4 years.

Results showed that in a 14-year follow-up, 620 participants had died, 142 of which died due to cardiovascular causes. Researchers observed that low vitamin D and K status was present in 970 participants (20%), and was associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality compared to subjects with high vitamin D and K status. Similar, but non-significant trends were found for cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events. Interestingly, the combined association of low vitamin D and vitamin K status was greater than the sum of low vitamin D or K status alone. This indicates that the combined insufficiency amplifies mortality risk.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the association of combined vitamin D and K status with mortality outcomes in the general population,” commented Trygve Bergeland, vice president, Science and Product Development at Kappa Bioscience, which manufactures the biologically active all-trans menaquinone-7 (vitamin K2 MK-7), marketed under the K2Vital brand name. “Proper nutrition is undeniably recognized as a crucial factor for good health. Vitamin D supplementation is common and certainly benefits bone health, with positive effects demonstrated on bone density and fracture prevention. Yet D needs to be balanced with K for proper cardiovascular health,” Bergeland continued. “Alone, it can increase calcium uptakes in the intestines but not activate MGP, which is responsible for inhibiting calcification in the vascular system.”