Heart disease, which kills an estimated 7.4 million people a year, is a disease normally identified in adults and brought about by a number of factors such as smoking, poor diet, high blood pressure and lack of exercise.
As a result of this, the individual's arteries become blocked with with a build-up of fatty deposits which interrupt blood flow to and from the heart.
When an individual's diet is high in LDL cholesterol as opposed to HDL cholersterol, they find themselves at greater risk of heart disease as this is one of the substances which causes blockages in the body.
Scientists researching the disease have now found a correlation between cholesterol levels and Vitamin D levels in children under the age of five.
The study, which examined the vitamin D levels in 1,961 children when obtained through milk, indicated a 'statistically significant association' between higher vitamin D levels and lower total cholesterol.
Commenting on the findings, Dr. Jonathan Maguire, a paediatrician at St. Michael's Hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto, said: "Maybe the factors that lead to cardiovascular disease start in early childhood. If vitamin D is associated with cholesterol in early childhood, this may provide an opportunity for early life interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk."
Elaborating on the results, Dr. Maguire went on to say: "What we’ve found is that kids with lower vitamin D levels had higher levels of non-HDL (bad) cholesterol. This suggests that cardiovascular disease may start when we’re very little and persist throughout our lives."
The children, who participated in the study,consumed just under two cups of milk per day with more than half also taking a vitamin D supplement all of which indicated that if a child boasts a high vitamin D level, they were less likely to have bad cholesterol.
The findings were based on research conducted through the Applied Research Group for Kids which is a programme that follows children from birth and aims to prevent common problems manifesting themselves through early intervention.
The research has been published in the PLOS ONE journal.
