Vitamin D deficiency may be the underlying cause of most health issues and diseases. There are few studies investigating the effect of low vitamin D levels on the cardiac arrhythmias. The electrocardiographic Tpeak to Tend (Tpe) interval and Tpe/QT ratio may associate with increased ventricular arrhythmias. The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between ventricular repolarization and vitamin D levels in apparently healthy individuals by using Tpe interval, Tpe/QT ratio and Tpe/corrected QT (cQT).
A total of 400 subjects (200 patients with vitamin D deficiency and 200 healthy volunteers) were enrolled in the study. Tpe interval, Tpe/QT ratio and Tpe/cQT ratio were evaluated from surface electrocardiography and these indices were compared between groups.
No difference was observed in terms of clinical characteristics between the two groups. Tpe interval, Tpe/QT ratio and Tpe/cQT ratio were statistically significantly higher in vitamin D deficient subjects than the control subjects (87.9 ± 13.2 vs. 77.1 ± 4.5 ms, p < 0.001; 24 ± 0.03 vs. 0.21 ± 0.02, p < 0.001; 0.22 ± 0.02 vs. 0.19 ± 0.02, p < 0.001; respectively). Moreover, significant negative co-relation was observed between Tpe interval, Tpe/QT ratio, Tpe/cQT ratio and vitamin D levels (r = -0.388, p < 0.001; r = -0.364, p < 0.001; r = -0.354, p < 0.001; respectively).
Tpe interval, Tpe/QT ratio and Tpe/cQT ratio were increased in vitamin D deficient subjects and this increase was negatively correlated with vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D levels may increase the risk of ventricular arrhythmia in apparently healthy individuals.