Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with an Integrated Inflammatory-Adiposity Network Linked to Cardiovascular Disease: A Community-Based Study
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Morphological Sciences, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 4070000, Israel
- 2Department of Nursing, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel 1930600, Israel
- 3Department of Anatomy and Biological Anthropology, Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 6905126, Israel
- 4The Simon Winter Institute for Human Genetics, Bnai Zion Medical Center, The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa 3200003, Israel
- 5Department of Orthopedics, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel
Abstract
Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is highly prevalent worldwide and has been associated with chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, its relationship with coordinated inflammatory and cardiometabolic networks remains unclear. We studied 1075 participants classified as VDD (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L; n = 304) or in the ≥25 nmol/L group (n = 771) based on circulating 25(OH)D levels. Body composition and plasma levels of IL-17, IL-34, activin A, follistatin, and FSTL1 were assessed; the follistatin/FSTL1 ratio (FOFS) and C-reactive protein–triglyceride–glucose index (CTI) were calculated. Detectable IL-17 and IL-34 concentrations were available for 195 and 247 participants, respectively. VDD participants exhibited higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers and a higher prevalence of hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HLD), and CVD. Multivariable analysis revealed a particularly strong independent association between IL-17 and VDD (OR = 8.36, 95% CI: 3.72–18.80). Structural equation modeling (SEM) supported an interconnected inflammatory–cardiometabolic association network, characterized by a strong association between VDD and IL-17 (β = 0.689) and significant interrelationships among IL-17, IL-34, FOFS, CTI, and cardiometabolic comorbidities. These findings identify IL-17 as a prominent inflammatory correlate of VDD and suggest that FOFS may represent a link between inflammatory activation and cardiometabolic morbidity associated with VDD.
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BibTeX
@article{tarabeih2026vitamin,
title = {{Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with an Integrated Inflammatory-Adiposity Network Linked to Cardiovascular Disease: A Community-Based Study}},
author = {Nader Tarabeih and Alexander Kalinkovich and Adel Shalata and Shai Ashkenazi and Ali Sleiman and Gregory Livshits},
journal = {Biomolecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/biom16111546},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/11/1546},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with an Integrated Inflammatory-Adiposity Network Linked to Cardiovascular Disease: A Community-Based Study
AU - Nader Tarabeih
AU - Alexander Kalinkovich
AU - Adel Shalata
AU - Shai Ashkenazi
AU - Ali Sleiman
AU - Gregory Livshits
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Biomolecules
DO - 10.3390/biom16111546
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/11/1546
AB - Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is highly prevalent worldwide and has been associated with chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, its relationship with coordinated inflammatory and cardiometabolic networks remains unclear. We studied 1075 participants classified as VDD (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L; n = 304) or in the ≥25 nmol/L group (n = 771) based on circulating 25(OH)D levels. Body composition and plasma levels of IL-17, IL-34, activin A, follistatin, and FSTL1 were assessed; the follistatin/FSTL1 ratio (FOFS) and C-reactive protein–triglyceride–glucose index (CTI) were calculated. Detectable IL-17 and IL-34 concentrations were available for 195 and 247 participants, respectively. VDD participants exhibited higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers and a higher prevalence of hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HLD), and CVD. Multivariable analysis revealed a particularly strong independent association between IL-17 and VDD (OR = 8.36, 95% CI: 3.72–18.80). Structural equation modeling (SEM) supported an interconnected inflammatory–cardiometabolic association network, characterized by a strong association between VDD and IL-17 (β = 0.689) and significant interrelationships among IL-17, IL-34, FOFS, CTI, and cardiometabolic comorbidities. These findings identify IL-17 as a prominent inflammatory correlate of VDD and suggest that FOFS may represent a link between inflammatory activation and cardiometabolic morbidity associated with VDD.
SN - 2218-273X
ER -