Does vitamin K deficiency cause arteries to calcify?
The relationship between vitamin K status and coronary artery calcification (determined by electron-beam computed tomography) was assessed in 600 men (aged 50-70 years) who had no symptoms of atherosclerosis. There was no linear relationship between vitamin K status and coronary calcification. However, men in the bottom 10 percentile with respect to vitamin K status (determined by the percent of undercarboxylated osteocalcin in serum) had significantly ore coronary artery calcification than did those with better vitamin K status, After adjustment for blood pressure and lipid levels, poor vitamin K status was associated with a 2.7-fold increase in the risk of severe coronary artery calcification, an increase that is comparable to that associated with smoking.
