{
  "id": 11224308,
  "title": "NIN study links Vitamin D deficiency to heart cell damage",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/nin-study-links-vitamin-d-deficiency-to-heart-cell-damage",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-01T15:45:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/nin-study-links-vitamin-d-deficiency-to-heart-cell-damage/article71533538.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) study suggests that inadequate vitamin D levels may cause damage to heart cells at a cellular level. The research, published in the journal Steroids, used rat models and laboratory-grown rat heart cells to investigate the effects of normal, low and deficient levels of dietary vitamin D. The findings revealed that rats with vitamin D deficiency exhibited significantly higher levels of oxidative damage in heart tissue, lower levels of the antioxidant glutathione, reduced activity of important antioxidant enzymes, and impairment of the 'Nrf2 pathway', a critical cellular defense mechanism that helps the body counter oxidative stress. These factors led to increased markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, and apoptosis in vitamin D-deficient hearts. Laboratory experiments showed similar results in rat cardiac cells, with oxidative stress exposure causing reduced survival and higher levels of cellular damage. Treatment with active vitamin D improved antioxidant responses and reduced markers of oxidative stress, ER stress, and apoptosis. The study suggests that vitamin D may play a critical role beyond bone health, potentially maintaining healthy heart function. However, the ICMR-NIN director Bharati Kulkarni cautions against drawing direct conclusions for humans from the study, as it is based on animal and cell models. Further investigations in humans are required.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart cell damage in study",
    "Rat models and lab cells used to investigate vitamin D effects",
    "Treatment with active vitamin D improved antioxidant responses"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}