Researchers have found that increased intakes of vitamin K2 may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women.

For every 10 mcg increase in the amount of vitamin K2 consumed, researchers from the Netherlands report a nine percent reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). The effects were mostly confined to the higher forms of vitamin K2, namely menaquinones 7 to 9, according to results published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.

"Our findings may have important practical implications on CVD prevention. It is important to mention that in order to increase the intake of vitamin K2, increasing the portion of vitamin K2 foods in daily life might not be a good idea," wrote lead author Gerrie-Cor Gast from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht. "Vitamin K2 might be, for instance, more relevant in the form of a supplement or in low-fat dairy."

There are two main forms of vitamin K: phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinones (vitamin K2). K1 is found in green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli and spinach, and makes up about 90% of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet; while K2 makes up about 10% of Western vitamin K consumption.

Gast and her co-workers evaluated data from the Prospect-EPIC cohort, consisting of 16,057 postmenopausal women, aged between 49 and 70. None of the women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.

Dietary intakes were assessed using food frequency questions (FFQs), and participants were followed for over eight years. At the end of the study, the researchers observed an association between a higher consumption of natural vitamin K2, particularly menaquinone-7, -8 and -9 and a significantly reduced prevalence of CHD. Consumption of vitamin K1 had no effect on vascular health, said the researchers.

The reason behind the different effects of K1 and K2 may be due to the different distribution of each in the body, said the researchers. K1 is primarily taken up by the liver and then cleared from circulation, while K2 is the major form of vitamin K transported also to extra-hepatic tissues, such as vessel wall and bone tissue.

"Of the subtypes of vitamin K2, it appeared that particularly MK-7, MK-8 and MK-9 affected the risk of CHD," said the researchers. A stronger effect of the longer subtypes could be due to a slower hepatic clearance of these subtypes, making them longer available for carboxylation reactions."

Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease Published online ahead of print.

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