ArticleEuropean journal of nutrition2025
Prevention of chronic disease using vitamins-a case study of the vitamin D and cardiovascular disease hypothesis using evidence from randomised controlled and prospective cohort studies.
Article in European journal of nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Childhood malnutrition, rickets, and anemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis on global prevalence, determinants, and public health implications.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- To distinguish solarium use with and without risk behavior on melanoma incidence and all-cause mortality: a report from the large MISS cohort.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026Article
- Integrating Senescence and Oxidative Stress in Cardiac Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Type 1 Diabetes Autoimmunity: To What Extent Vitamin D is Beneficial.Biochemistry research international · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe hypothesis that vitamin supplementation may prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been supported by compelling mechanistic and observational data. However, most large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCT) of vitamins and CVD are null, leading to the conclusion that vitamins have no role in CVD prevention. Our objective was to examine challenges inherent in single nutrient trials using vitamin D and CVD as a case study.
methodsWe conducted a systematic scoping review of the literature published since 2011 on vitamin D and CVD, including RCTs, prospective cohort studies (PCS) and systematic reviews from Medline, Web of Science and Cochrane. Studies were conducted in adults and included CVD outcomes with a minimum sample of 500 for RCTs and 10,000 for PCS. We applied Bradford Hill criteria for the establishment of causality in biological systems.
resultsThe search yielded 4170 papers, of which 40 were eligible, including 6 RCTs and 7 PCS. The Bradford Hill analysis of a causal relationship between vitamin D and CVD was mixed, with strong mechanistic support and reasonable strength and consistency in observational data but weak evidence of temporality. There was sufficient justification for trialling a benefit for CVD prevention but RCTs were inconsistent with the mechanistic and observational studies and reported mostly null results. Contextual factors were key, including baseline vitamin D status among participants, background supplementation and underlying participant disease profiles.
conclusionThis example illustrates the complexity of conducting nutrient trials and raises questions about RCTs of single nutrients for complex chronic diseases. The core challenge common to all nutrient trials is the absence of a zero-intake placebo group and variable background exposures. Alternative approaches and interpretation paradigms are required.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.