According to researchers teens with low levels of vitamin D had a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes and are also significantly more likely to have high blood pressure and blood sugar.

The study by Jared P. Reis, PhD, and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, was presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association. It said that the link between adults with low vitamin D levels and an increased risk for diabetes and heart disease was known but it now apparent that a lack of vitamin D can trigger these risks earlier in life.

In the study researchers' analyzed data from 3,577 adolescents aged 12 to 19 enrolled in National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys from 2001 through 2004. They compared 25 % teens that had the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood of more than 26 nanograms per milliliter to 25 % teens with the lowest vitamin D levels of less than 15 ng/mL.

The researchers reported that there was a fourfold increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors for diabetes, a 2.54 times greater risk of high blood sugar and a 2.36 times greater risk of high blood pressure. They also found that, on an average white teens had vitamin D levels that were almost twice as high as African American teens at 15.5 ng/mL vs. 28.0 ng/mL and 30 % higher than Mexican American teens.

"These data on serum vitamin D levels in young people raise some concern about their food choices and even the amount of time they spend in the sunshine," said Robert Eckel, a past president of the American Heart Association. The researchers found that teens with the lowest levels of vitamin D were four times more likely to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, and low levels of good cholesterol.

"Although our study is important, we believe clinical trials designed to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the risk of heart disease risk factors in adolescents should be conducted before recommendations can be made for vitamin D in the prevention of cardiovascular disease," said Reis.

Reiss added that it remains to be proven whether supplements of vitamin D would reduce the risk of diabetes and heart risk. "We are just now starting to understand the role that vitamin D may play in cardiovascular health," Reis said.

Eckel echoed similar sentiments saying that supplements may not be the best way to get vitamin D. "The AHA recommends an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, and that people get their nutrients primarily from food sources rather than supplements," Eckel said.