Vitamin D administration lowers blood pressure in animal models, but findings from studies in humans are inconsistent. Vimaleswaran and colleagues used a Mendelian randomization approach to show that alleles associated with increased plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 are associated with a reduced risk of hypertension, suggesting a causal relationship in humans.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Li, Y. C. et al. 1, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 is a negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system. J. Clin. Invest. 110, 229–238 (2002).
Vimaleswaran, K. S. et al. Association of vitamin D status with arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk: a Mendelian randomisation study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(14)70113-5.
Smith G. D. & Ebrahim, S. Mendelian randomization: prospects, potentials, and limitations. Int. J. Epidemiol. 33, 30–42 (2004).
Forman, J. P., Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A., Willett, W. C., Stampfer, M. J. & Curhan, G. C. Vitamin D intake and risk of incident hypertension: results from three large prospective cohort studies. Hypertension 46, 676–682 (2005).
Rothman, K. J., Greenland, S. & Lash, T. L. Modern Epidemiology 3rd edn (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008).
Margolis, K. L. et al. Effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Trial. Hypertension 52, 847–855 (2008).
Witham, M. D. et al. Cholecalciferol treatment to reduce blood pressure in older patients with isolated systolic hypertension: the VitDISH randomized controlled trial. JAMA Intern. Med. 173, 1672–1679 (2013).
Forman, J. P. et al. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure in blacks. Hypertension 61, 779–785 (2013).
Sanders, K. M. et al. Annual high-dose oral vitamin D and falls and fractures in older women: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 303, 1815–1822 (2010).
Manson, J. E. et al. The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL): rationale and design of a large randomized controlled trial of vitamin D and marine ω-3 fatty acid supplements for the primary prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Contemp. Clin. Trials 33, 159–171 (2012).
Acknowledgements
M.L.M. is supported by a Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant from the American Society of Nephrology and by the NIH grant U01-087,783.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
J.E.M. receives funding from the NIH for the Vitamin D and Omega 3 Trial (VITAL). M.L.M. declares no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Melamed, M., Manson, J. Vitamin D and blood pressure—a preliminary verdict. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10, 579–580 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.149
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.149
