Association of Calcitriol and Blood Pressure in Normotensive Men

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the possible associations between the serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol) level and blood pressure. Cross-sectional analysis of data was performed. Data collected included levels of serum calcitriol, parathyroid hormone, serum calcium, and blood lead; blood pressure; dietary history; and demographic and anthropometric variables. One hundred normotensive male industrial employees made up the study population. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were main outcome measures. After possible confounders were controlled for, multivariate analyses yielded an inverse, independent, and statistically significant association between calcitriol level and systolic blood pressure (standardized β=−0.2704, P =.0051). A similar trend of borderline significance was found for the association between calcitriol and diastolic blood pressure (standardized β=−0.1814, P =.0611). Parathyroid hormone, serum calcium, and blood lead levels were not associated with blood pressure. When subjects were divided into four groups by calcitriol level, those in the lowest quartile showed significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures than those in the upper quartile (difference=11 mm Hg, P =.007, and difference=4 mm Hg, P =.071, respectively). There is an inverse association between serum calcitriol level and blood pressure. This suggests that in addition to its role in calcium homeostasis, the active metabolite of vitamin D may play a role in determining blood pressure. The differences in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures between the upper and lower quartiles of serum calcitriol were substantial and may be of clinical significance.

Correlation between Left Ventricular Mass Index and Calcium Metabolism in Patients with Essential Hypertension

“…Some studies have reported significantly higher vitamin D levels in hypertensive patients than normotensive patients (11,22), and this increase has been shown to be related to the activation of 1.25-hydroxylase via PTH (11). However, in accordance with our findings of significantly lower levels of vitamin D in hypertensive patients, vitamin D level has been reported to be lower in subjects with higher systolic and diastolic BP (24). Though these contradictory results may be related to the heterogeneous characteristics of the patient populations in the studies, it seems notable that no significant correlations were determined between mean 24-hour ASBP and ADBP and levels of PTH, vitamin D, and calcitonin in our patients with essential hypertension.…”

Vitamin D: current status and perspectives

“…Moreover, there is evidence that 125VTD suppresses the renin gene expression (65) and regulates the growth and proliferation of vascular smooth cells and cardiomyocytes (66). Clinical studies have associated low levels of vitamin D with blood pressure (67,68), coronary artery calcification (69), and cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction (70), acute stroke (71), congestive heart failure (72). Recently, in the Framingham Offspring Study, vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with incident cardiovascular diseases (64).…”

Long-term effect of calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on blood pressure and serum lipid concentrations in healthy older men

“…Epidemiological and clinical studies have also reported an inverse association between vitamin D status and blood pressure (Kristal-Boneh et al, 1997;Scragg et al, 2007); serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations have been shown to inversely, albeit weakly, associated with hypertension or blood pressure in some (Kokot et al, 1981;Scragg et al, 2007), but not all studies (Snijder et al, 2007). The link between vitamin D and blood pressure may relate, in part, to the fact that vitamin D is a negative regulator of renin release, which is important in the regulation of blood pressure (Li et al, 2004).…”