Arthritis Rheumatol

Vitamin D, n-3 fatty acids, and autoimmune disease: Two years after the VITAL trial

February 12, 2024

The protective effects of 2,000 IU/day of Vitamin D dissipated two years after trial termination, but 1,000 mg/day of n-3 fatty acids had a sustained effect in reducing autoimmune disease (AD) incidence.

• Among the 12,786 men (age ≥50 years) and 13,085 women (age ≥55 years) initially randomized, researchers followed surviving and willing participants for two more years (N = 21,592).
• A total of 514 participants had incident confirmed AD (236 since prior report); 255 had been randomized to vitamin D vs. 259 to vitamin D placebo (hazard ratio [HR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-1.17) at 7 years. AD was confirmed in 234 participants initially randomized to n-3 fatty acids vs. 280 randomized to its placebo (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70-0.99) at 7 years.
• Of newly confirmed cases, 65 had onset during randomization; their inclusion changed randomized results to: HR, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.70-1.04) for vitamin D and HR, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.71-1.06) for n-3 fatty acids.

Source:

Costenbader, K.H. et al. (2024, January 25). Arthritis Rheumatol. Vitamin D and Marine n-3 Fatty Acids for Autoimmune Disease Prevention: Outcomes at Two Years after VITAL Trial Completion. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38272846/