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Can Vitamin D Prevent Hypertension? Human body needs Vitamin D for a number of reasons. Besides being required for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous for maintenance of healthy bones, it is also an immune system regulator, and is linked to maintaining a health body weight. Several studies have already shown the link between Vitamin D and hypertension. For instance, the Harvard study of nurses revealed that women with low Vitamin D levels (17 ng/m) had a 67 percent increased risk of developing hypertension. In 2012, a group of Danish researchers reported at the European Society of Hypertension meeting in London that Vitamin D supplementation in winter could help lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients having low levels of Vitamin D. However, the correlation found so far has not been causality. Meanwhile, randomized controlled trials of Vitamin D supplementation in humans have produced inconsistent effects on cardiovascular outcomes. During the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) held on June 11, 2013, researchers from University of London announced that low levels of Vitamin D could be a major cause of hypertension. After analyzing data from the D-CarDia collaboration, involving 35 studies, over 155,000 individuals, and numerous centers in Europe and North America, the researchers found that those with high concentrations of 25-hydroxyVitamin D (25(OH)D) had reduced blood pressure and therefore a reduced risk of hypertension.
In order to test for a casual association with blood pressure and hypertension, genetic variants known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), as proxy markers to reflect individual’s Vitamin D status, were used. The analysis indicated a significant link: for every 10 percent increase in 25(OH)D concentrations, there was a 8.1 percent reduction in the risk of developing hypertension. Researchers adopted Mendelian randomization that could allow them to determine the cause and effect and to make accurate conclusions with certainty. Undoubtedly, the new large study suggested that some cases of cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) could be prevented through Vitamin D supplements or food fortification. The new findings also provided further support for the important non-skeletal effects of vitamin D. The researchers hope to continue their work by examining the causal relationship between Vitamin D status and other cardiovascular disease-related outcomes including lipid-related phenotypes (for example, cholesterol), inflammatory markers (like C-reactive protein), and Type-2 diabetes and markers of glucose metabolism. According to health experts, Vitamin D can reduce blood pressure by altering renin, increasing insulin sensitivity, and reducing arterial calcification. Vitamin D regulates calcium absorption and metabolism. Higher Vitamin D levels help direct calcium to the bones and teeth rather than to soft tissues like arteries. Deficiency in Vitamin D is a very common problem in the Western world. A European study reported in 2012 that Vitamin D deficiency affected between 50 and 70 percent of the population in Europe. Vitamin D insufficiency (between 21-29 ng/mL) and Vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL) can lead to a higher risk of autoimmune diseases, certain types of cancer, Type-2 diabetes, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, and even obesity. People can acquire Vitamin D by 2 ways: either eating or drinking it, or exposing the skin to the sunlight. Food that is rich in Vitamin D includes oily fish, eggs and milk. Sunlight triggers the production of Vitamin D. The liver and kidneys can then convert it into a form that human body can use. About 90 percent of Vitamin D is synthesized on the skin having contact with sunlight. It is advised by health experts that people should expose to sunlight for 15 minutes 3 or 4 times a week when weather permits. While exposing to sunlight seems to be one of the best ways of getting Vitamin D, modern lifestyle involving few outdoor activities and fear of possible cancer risk from sunlight prevents people from exposing to sunlight regularly. This could partly explain why so many modern people have deficiency in Vitamin D.
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