Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart cell damage, finds Hyderabad NIN study

A study by Hyderabad’s National Institute of Nutrition has linked vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency to increased oxidative and cellular stress in the heart. Experiments using rat models and cardiac cells found vitamin D reduced oxidative damage, ER stress and autophagy markers.

Hyderabad: Vitamin D might be capable of doing much more than just making your bones stronger and improving immunity. The micronutrient, which can be sourced directly from the sun, could in fact be a vital shield for your heart.

A recent study published in the scientific journal Steroids in September 2026 by researchers from the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) has found that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are linked to increased cellular stress and damage in the heart.

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In a significant finding that sheds new light on cardiovascular health, researchers from the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition have revealed that vitamin D deficiency weakens the heart’s cellular defences.

Published in the scientific journal Steroids on September 2, 2026, the study used rat models to evaluate varying vitamin D levels and map a step-by-step biological effect inside cardiac tissue.

Led by NIN Scientist F Dr Ayesha Ismail, alongside researchers Athira Anilkumar Sudharma and Shabna Aboo, the study said that when vitamin D levels drop, the heart’s natural antioxidant defences, specifically a protective pathway regulated by a protein called Nrf2, are also suppressed, leading to a surge of oxidative damage in the left ventricle.

The chemical imbalance inside the heart did not stop there. It overwhelmed the cells’ internal protein-folding machinery, triggering endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and ultimately activating self-destruct and autophagy signals, resulting in programmed cell death.

To validate these mechanisms at the cellular level, the team conducted in vitro experiments using rat cardiomyoblast cells (H9C2). Pretreatment with vitamin D enhanced antioxidant status and reduced both ER stress and autophagy markers.

The findings indicate that maintaining adequate vitamin D levels could be important in helping cardiac cells cope with oxidative stress and stave off cellular degradation. While the study offers insights into how micronutrient deficiencies may translate to cardiac vulnerability, the researchers note that these conclusions are currently derived from animal and cell models, paving the way for broader clinical investigations in humans.