Observational studyThe American journal of clinical nutrition2020
Could vitamin D reduce obesity-associated inflammation? Observational and Mendelian randomization study.
Observational study in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the Inflammatory Link Between Vitamin D and Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Systematic Review and Causal Inference Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Micronutrients, Vitamin D, and Inflammatory Biomarkers in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Causal Inference Studies.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Low-grade inflammation from prenatal period to age 6-8 years in a Vitamin D trial.Pediatric research · 2024Trial
- Article
- Uric acid mediates the association of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein with gallstones in adult women in the United States.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Low leg fat mass is associated with low insulin sensitivity, inflammatory markers, and β-cell dysfunction in non-obese Japanese people.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between vitamin D status and biomarkers of inflammation in a pan-European cohort of children and adolescents.European journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Review
- Metabolic Syndrome, Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Vitamin D Levels in Children and Adolescents with Obesity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- The Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation with or without Calcium on Vitamin D Epimer and Metabolites.Metabolites · 2024Article
- Overweight and vitamin D deficiency are common in patients with irritable bowel syndrome - a cross-sectional study.BMC gastroenterology · 2024Article
- The association between fat distribution and α1-acid glycoprotein levels among adult females in the United States.Lipids in health and disease · 2024Observational
- Vitamin DEuropean journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Genetic associations and potential mediators between psychiatric disorders and irritable bowel syndrome: a Mendelian randomization study with mediation analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Periodontal Disease and Other Adverse Health Outcomes Share Risk Factors, including Dietary Factors and Vitamin D Status.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Frequency of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in a Population with a very High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency, Obesity, Diabetes and Hypertension.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Vitamin D deficiency and C-reactive protein: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.International journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
- Longitudinal changes in vitamin D concentrations and the association with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Tromsø Study.Acta diabetologica · 2023Article
- Guidelines for Preventing and Treating Vitamin D Deficiency: A 2023 Update in Poland.Nutrients · 2023Review
- An Exploratory Critical Review on TNF-α as a Potential Inflammatory Biomarker Responsive to Dietary Intervention with Bioactive Foods and Derived Products.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundObesity is associated with inflammation but the role of vitamin D in this process is not clear.
objectivesWe aimed to assess the associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], BMI, and 16 inflammatory biomarkers, and to assess the role of vitamin D as a potential mediator in the association between higher BMI and inflammation.
methodsNorthern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) 31-y data on 3586 individuals were analyzed to examine the observational associations between BMI, 25(OH)D, and 16 inflammatory biomarkers. Multivariable regression analyses and 2-sample regression-based Mendelian randomization (MR) mediation analysis were performed to assess any role of vitamin D in mediating a causal effect of BMI on inflammatory biomarkers [soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP)] for which observational associations were detected. For MR, genome-wide association study summary results ranging from 5163 to 806,834 individuals were used for biomarkers, 25(OH)D, and BMI. Findings were triangulated with a literature review of vitamin D supplementation trials.
resultsIn NFBC1966, mean BMI (kg/m2) was 24.8 (95% CI: 24.7, 25.0) and mean 25(OH)D was 50.3 nmol/L (95% CI: 49.8, 50.7 nmol/L). Inflammatory biomarkers correlated as 4 independent clusters: interleukins, adhesion molecules, acute-phase proteins, and chemokines. BMI was positively associated with 9 inflammatory biomarkers and inversely with 25(OH)D (false discovery rate < 0.05). 25(OH)D was inversely associated with sICAM-1, hs-CRP, and AGP, which were positively associated with BMI. The MR analyses showed causal association of BMI on these 3 inflammatory biomarkers. There was no observational or MR evidence that circulating 25(OH)D concentrations mediated the association between BMI and these 3 inflammatory markers. Review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) supported our findings showing no impact of vitamin D supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers.
conclusionsThe findings from our observational study and causal MR analyses, together with data from RCTs, do not support a beneficial role of vitamin D supplementation on obesity-related inflammation.
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Registered trials
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