CHICAGO -- Vitamin D deficiency does not appear to confer an
increased risk of fatal stroke among blacks -- in contrast to
findings among white populations, according to an analysis of
U.S. population data. Analysis of National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) data encompassing almost 8,000
people, showed that over a median of 14 years, whites with
levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D level below 15 ng/mL had double
the risk of dying from stroke compared with those who had higher
levels (HR 2.13, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.50), reported Erin Michos, MD,
of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. However, no such
association was found in black NHANES participants (HR 0.93, 95%
CI 0.49 to 1.80) -- despite their lower overall vitamin D levels
and greater fatal stroke risk compared with whites, she told the
American Heart Association annual meeting here. Michos said the
finding was surprising because it was thought that vitamin D
deficiency might explain the higher stroke rate observed in
blacks. She speculated tha