Vitamin D is related to blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men

Abstract

A previous study has shown that serum levels of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25-(OH)2-vitamin D were inversely related to blood pressure levels while the prohormone 25-OH-vitamin D was found to be related to insulin metabolism. Also other clinical and experimental data support the view that vitamin D metabolism is involved in blood pressure regulation and other metabolic processes. The present study was conducted in order to see if the above mentioned relationships between the vitamin D endocrine system and blood pressure, as well as other cardiovascular risk factors, could be found in a cross-section population-based study. Serum levels of 1,25-(OH)2-vitamin D, 25-OH-vitamin D, and blood pressure were therefore measured in 34 middle-aged men and metabolic cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated by means of intravenous glucose and fat tolerance tests, euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, lipoprotein measurements, and lipoprotein lipase activity determinations. Serum levels of 1,25-(OH)2-vitamin D were found to be inversely correlated to the blood pressure (r = -0.42, P < .02), VLDL triglycerides (r = -0.47, P < .005), and to triglyceride removal at the intravenous fat tolerance test (r = 0.34, P < .05), while serum levels of 25-OH-vitamin D were correlated to fasting insulin (r = -0.35, P < .05), insulin sensitivity during clamp (r = 0.54, P < .001), and lipoprotein lipase activity both in adiposal tissue (r = 0.48, P < .005) and skeletal muscle (r = 0.38, P < .03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Vitamin D, glucose tolerance and insulinaemia in elderly men

“…Positive relationships between 25(OH)D and insulin sensitivity have been reported previously in small groups of middle-aged men [8] and in uraemia. This is the largest study we know of in which indices of insulin resistance and glycaemia during OGTT have been investigated in relation to vitamin D status and extensive anthropomorphic and questionnaire data.…”

Change in plasma levels of vitamin D after consumption of cod-liver and fresh cod-liver oil as part of the traditional north Norwegian fish dish “Molje”

“…An inverse association between the BMI and 25(OH)D in blood has been reported in other studies (16,(25)(26)(27). Obesity has been considered to be an independent predictor of vitamin D deficiency (28).…”

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).…”