Blacks More Likely To Suffer From Strokes, But Not Because Of Vitamin D Deficiencies

Vitamin D deficiencies double the risk of a fatal stroke among whites, but not among blacks, new U.S. research has found. The research follows on earlier studies associating low levels of vitamin D with high death rates, heart disease and peripheral artery disease. The researchers analyzed data from nearly 8,000 healthy men and women of both races who were part of an ongoing national health survey. Among the participants, 6.6 percent of whites and 32.3 percent of blacks had severely low blood levels of vitamin D. The chance of blacks suffering strokes was 65 percent higher than whites during the study, but probably because of higher rates of hypertension and diabetes, not vitamin D deficiencies. Vitamin D is obtained from sunlight, milk, fatty fish and fortified cereals