Association between Vitamin D and Risk of Stroke: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#case-control-studies #cohort-studies #humans #odds-ratio #stroke

Association between Vitamin D and Risk of Stroke: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Su et al., 2021 | Eur Neurol | Meta Analysis

Citation

Su Cen, Jin Biao, ... Zhao Kangren. Association between Vitamin D and Risk of Stroke: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Eur Neurol. 2021;84(6):399-408. doi:10.1159/000517584

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown inconsistent results for associations between vitamin D and risk of stroke. We gathered the existing published articles and conducted this meta-analysis with the aim to explore the association between vitamin D and risk of stroke. METHODS: We searched for articles exploring the association between vitamin D and risk of stroke and published before April 2021 in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. All statistical analyses were made using STATA 12.0 software. Q test and I2 were applied to examine heterogeneities between studies. RESULTS: For the association between serum levels of 25(OH) vitamin D and risks of stroke, the present analysis included 20 cohort studies (including 213,276 participants) and a case-control analysis (including 13,642 participants). Additionally, the analysis included 15 studies (including 41,146 participants given vitamin D supplementation and 41,163 participants given placebo) to evaluate the influence of vitamin D supplementation on risk of stroke. Higher circulating levels of 25(OH) vitamin D were associated with a reduced risk of stroke (odds ratio/relative risk = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.86, I2 = 41.5%, p = 0.025). However, the present analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation did not influence the risk of stroke (hazard ratio = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.96-1.14, I2 = 2.3%, p = 0.425). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicated that lower circulating level of vitamin D was associated with an elevated risk of stroke, but extra supplement of vitamin D failed to show benefit in decreasing the risk of stroke. Further research and study are also needed to show the role of vitamin D in relation to stroke.

Key Findings

For the association between serum levels of 25(OH) vitamin D and risks of stroke, the present analysis included 20 cohort studies (including 213,276 participants) and a case-control analysis (including 13,642 participants). Additionally, the analysis included 15 studies (including 41,146 participants given vitamin D supplementation and 41,163 participants given placebo) to evaluate the influence of vitamin D supplementation on risk of stroke. Higher circulating levels of 25(OH) vitamin D were as

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size 213276
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cohort Studies
  • Humans
  • Odds Ratio
  • Stroke
  • Vitamin D

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Meta-Analysis, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Systematic Review, Journal Article
  • Vertical: vitamin-d

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09