Association of serum total 25(OH)D with cardiometabolic factors among adult women

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D deficiency remains common among adult women in tropical settings, but its association with cardiometabolic factors is not fully characterized. Objective: To examine the association between serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and cardiometabolic factors among adult women. Methods: This secondary cross-sectional analysis used baseline screening data collected in Bogor City, Indonesia, from 29 August to 20 September 2025 before a vitamin D3 clinical trial. Using purposive sampling, 85 nonpregnant, nonlactating, premenopausal women aged 19 to 49 years with complete data were included. Serum total 25(OH)D was measured by VIDAS 25 OH Vitamin D Total using enzyme-linked fluorescent assay. Fasting capillary lipid profiles included total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, and LDL-C. Spearman correlation was the primary bivariate analysis. Multiple linear regression with HC3 robust standard errors modeled natural log-transformed serum total 25(OH)D, with total cholesterol as the exposure and age and waist-to-hip ratio as covariates. Results: Serum total 25(OH)D was <20 ng/mL in 92.9% of participants and <10 ng/mL in 60.0%; the median was 8.95 ng/mL. Total cholesterol was inversely associated with serum total 25(OH)D (ρ = −0.293, p = 0.006) and remained associated in the adjusted model (B = −0.0027, robust SE = 0.0009, p = 0.005). Conclusion: A large proportion of this purposively sampled group had low vitamin D status. Total cholesterol showed a weak inverse association with serum total 25(OH)D, but the cross-sectional design does not establish causality.