Association of Vitamin D Status and Physical Activity with Lipid Profile in Korean Children and Adolescents: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is one of the important influencing factors of cardiovascular health in the youth, and thus, assessment of its etiology is important. We aimed to investigate the association of dyslipidemia with vitamin D and physical activity in Korean children and adolescents. Data of 3183 subjects aged 12-18 years in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Participants were divided into subgroups according to sex, body mass index, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, and lipid profile. The mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 16.15 ng/mL, which was below normal. In total, 79.3% of the subjects had vitamin D deficiency. Females had lower vitamin D levels and a higher incidence of dyslipidemia compared to males. Vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. The low HDL-C group consisted of a higher proportion of subjects with vitamin D deficiency and low physical activity. This study suggests that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in Korean children and adolescents. Vitamin D deficiency and low physical activity are related with low HDL-C levels. Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels and physical activity may help prevent dyslipidemia.

Keywords: Vitamin D; adolescents; children; lipid; physical activity.

Figure 1

Diagram showing the workflow of the study. KNHANES: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; BMI: body mass index; 25OHD: 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Figure 2

Percentage of subjects with regular physical activity, vitamin D deficiency, and dyslipidemia according to sex. The p-value of each independent t-test is presented above the bars. Regular physical activity was defined as moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 1 hour/day 7 days/week. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25-hydroxvitamin D ≤ 20 ng/mL. TC: total cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG: triglycerides.