Vitamin D, adiposity, and cardiometabolic risk: Insights from a multivariable cross-sectional study

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in various metabolic disorders, but its relationship with adiposity and atherogenic risk remains not fully elucidated. We assessed associations between serum vitamin D levels and a wide range of metabolic, atherogenic, and adiposity-related markers in adults stratified by weight status. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 130 adults categorized according to their body weight status into: normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Additionally, participants were grouped based on serum vitamin D levels (threshold 20 ng/mL) Clinical, metabolic, and anthropometric variables were compared across groups. A principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to explore underlying patterns of association. Results: As expected, significant differences in cardiometabolic parameters emerged across weight categories (p < 0.05). However, vitamin D levels showed no significant correlation with most metabolic variables in either univariate or multivariate analysis. PCA revealed that vitamin D and body mass index (BMI) were consistently represented as opposing vectors, suggesting distinct but potentially interacting influences on metabolic risk. While BMI was associated with indices such as TG/HDL, atherogenic index of plasma, and cardiometabolic risk index, vitamin D correlated more closely with HDL, total cholesterol, and Triglyceride-Cholesterol Body Index. Conclusions: Findings indicate that vitamin D may influence cardiometabolic profiles through mechanisms that are at least partially independent of adiposity. Despite the lack of direct correlations, the divergent associations observed in PCA suggest possible interaction effects between BMI and vitamin D. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate vitamin D's role as a context-dependent modulator of metabolic risk.