Background: Vitamin D is a pro-hormone that plays an essential role in the vasculature and in kidney function. Aims: To review the extra-skeletal effects of vitamin D on blood pressure, endothelial and renal function with emphasis on recent findings in postmenopausal women. Methods: Included in this review was a PubMed database search for English language articles through March 2013. This review discussed the physiology and definition of vitamin D deficiency, the recent evidence for the role vitamin D in blood pressure, vascular and renal function. Results: Experimental and epidemiological data suggest that vitamin D plays an important role in the vasculature and in kidney function. Low vitamin D concentrations appear to significantly associate with hypertension, endothelial and renal dysfunction. However, the results of clinical trials have generally been mixed. Studies specifically conducted among postmenopausal women are limited and findings are still inconsistent. Conclusions: Definitive studies are warranted to elucidate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on vascular and renal function and a more detailed work is needed to outline the route, duration and optimal dose of supplementation. It is premature to recommend vitamin D as a therapeutic option in the improvement of vascular and renal function at the current stage.

Objectives: This study evaluated associations of various anthropometric measures of adiposity with a panel of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in a relatively lean population of Chinese women.Methods: This analysis included 1,005 Chinese women aged 40–70 years. Plasma concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were measured. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained interviewers.Results: Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were all positively and linearly associated with the inflammatory markers, CRP, TNF-α, soluble TNF-receptor 1 (sTNF-R1), and IL-6. A significant positive association of these measures of adiposity with the oxidative stress marker F2-IsoP-M, a metabolite of F2-IsoPs, but with not F2-IsoPs was found. Differences in biomarkers between extreme quartiles of anthropometric measurements varied widely, ranging from 9.7% for sTNF-R1 to 162.0% for CRP. For each specific biomarker, various anthropometric measurements exhibited similar ability to explain variations in the biomarker, with the biggest partial r2 (11%) observed for CRP.Conclusions: This study suggests that both general adiposity (measured by BMI) and central adiposity (measured by WC and WHtR) are positively and similarly associated with various markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in relatively lean Chinese women. The metabolite F2-IsoP-M of F2-IsoPs may be a better marker of in vivo oxidative stress than its parent compounds.

The sunlight exposure questionnaire for use in the Chinese population was constructed based on extensive literature review and item suitability for measuring life-time exposure. The content validity index (CVI) was derived from ratings by, an expert panel to assess the item content and relevance. 650 population-based Chinese women completed the sunlight exposure questionnaire through telephone interview. To assess the questionnaire reliability, 94 women were re-interviewed after 2 weeks. 98.4% of the sunlight exposure questionnaire items were found to have valid CVI (>0.83). The Scree plot and the Principal Components Factor Analysis showed a two-factor construct was appropriate and no questionnaire item needed to be excluded. The questionnaire also had a good test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.59–0.93; k: 0.51–100). This sunlight exposure questionnaire was found to be adequate for measurement of life-time sunlight exposure among Hong Kong Chinese women.

Background The National Patient‐Centered Clinical Research Network Blood Pressure Control Laboratory Surveillance System was established to identify opportunities for blood pressure (BP) control improvement and to provide a mechanism for tracking improvement longitudinally. Methods and Results We conducted a serial cross‐sectional study with queries against standardized electronic health record data in the National Patient‐Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) common data model returned by 25 participating US health systems. Queries produced BP control metrics for adults with well‐documented hypertension and a recent encounter at the health system for a series of 1‐year measurement periods for each quarter of available data from January 2017 to March 2020. Aggregate weighted results are presented overall and by race and ethnicity. The most recent measurement period includes data from 1 737 995 patients, and 11 956 509 patient‐years were included in the trend analysis. Overall, 15% were Black, 52% women, and 28% had diabetes. BP control (<140/90 mm Hg) was observed in 62% (range, 44%–74%) but varied by race and ethnicity, with the lowest BP control among Black patients at 57% (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66–0.94). A new class of antihypertensive medication (medication intensification) was prescribed in just 12% (range, 0.6%–25%) of patient visits where BP was uncontrolled. However, when medication intensification occurred, there was a large decrease in systolic BP (≈15 mm Hg; range, 5–18 mm Hg). Conclusions Major opportunities exist for improving BP control and reducing disparities, especially through consistent medication intensification when BP is uncontrolled. These data demonstrate substantial room for improvement and opportunities to close health equity gaps.