The associations of vitamin D status and dietary calcium with the metabolic syndrome: an analysis of the Victorian Health Monitor survey

Objective: To examine the associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), dietary Ca intake and presence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Design: A stratified cluster sample of a population aged 18–75 years from the Victorian Health Monitor survey. Setting: Non-institutionalized adults living in private dwellings in Victoria, Australia. Subjects: Adults (n 3404) with complete data and without type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Results: Adjusted for sociodemographic factors, physical characteristics and dietary covariates including Ca intake, every 10 nmol/l increase in serum 25(OH)D was significantly associated with decreased odds of MetS (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0·85, 95 % CI 0·80, 0·89; P<0·001). Relative to the low 25(OH)D tertile (median 33 nmol/l), there was a progressive decrease in odds of MetS that reached significance with the high 25(OH)D tertile (median 77 nmol/l; AOR=0·35, 95 % CI 0·26, 0·48; P