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Evidence of a casual relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension: a family-based study

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 1814–1822 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

An association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension has been observed in numerous studies. However, blood pressure improvements resulting from supplementation with vitamin D have been inconsistent. The causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension is still unclear and was investigated in this family-based study. A total of 1370 individuals from both vitamin D deficiency and hypertension families were included. First, the heritability of vitamin D deficiency was estimated by the Falconer method. Second, SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) of vitamin D metabolic and functional pathway genes associated with vitamin D deficiency were screened by a family-based association test, and the findings were further verified in nuclear families with vitamin D deficiency. Finally, a family-based association test was applied to investigate the association between selected SNPs associated with vitamin D deficiency and hypertension. The heritability of vitamin D deficiency was 50.4% in this family-based study. Allele C of rs3847987 was a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency (OR: 1.639, 95% CI: 1.170–2.297, P = 0.004). Furthermore, a family-based association of rs3847987 with hypertension was found in both additive and recessive models (P < 0.05). In addition, vitamin D deficiency was associated with hypertension (OR: 1.317, 95% CI: 1.022–1.698, P = 0.033). In conclusion, rs3847987 in the VDR gene was associated with both vitamin D deficiency and hypertension. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency may be a causal factor for hypertension.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the individuals who participated in the family-based study. We thank to all the participants who participated in this study.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81703270, 81872626) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M672298).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Lanxin Bai, Yinhua Feng, Xing Li, Wenjie Li & Songcheng Yu

  2. College of Grain Oil and Food Science, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Chenling Qu

  3. Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Gangqiong Liu & Songcheng Yu

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  1. Lanxin Bai
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Correspondence to Songcheng Yu.

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Bai, L., Qu, C., Feng, Y. et al. Evidence of a casual relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension: a family-based study. Hypertens Res 45, 1814–1822 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-01004-0

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