Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with hypertension, finds study
China: Findings from a recent study published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice show that vitamin D is important in regulating blood pressure by affecting the levels of renin through the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.
The study found that vitamin D deficiency is common in individuals with hypertension and there is a negative relationship between vitamin D levels and renin levels indicating the association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension. According to the study authors, it may provide some basis for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.
The study was conducted by Xin-Juan Xu, Department of Hypertension, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China, and colleagues with the objective to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone levels in patients with essential hypertension.
For this purpose, the researchers observed two groups of patients from Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, from April 2017 to March 2018. The participants were divided into two groups: the hypertension group (80 patients with essential hypertension selected by random cluster sampling) and the control group (76 healthy adults).
Measurement of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D or vitamin D) levels was done through fasting blood glucose, electrolytes, blood lipids, and other biochemical indicators. Other biochemical indicators were detected using immune chemiluminescence. Plasma renin activity and angiotensin II concentrations were detected with radio-immunity.
The study led to the following findings:
- Comparison between the hypertension group and control group showed statistically significant differences in the systolic pressure and levels of 25(OH)D, renin, and triglycerides.
- The correlation analysis showed that 25(OH)D was negatively correlated with renin (r = -0.185) and positively correlated with systolic pressure (r = -0.105).
- There were no statistically significant differences in diastolic pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides between the two groups
"The findings indicate that vitamin D deficiency is common in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, and vitamin D levels are negatively associated with renin levels," the researchers wrote in their study. "Vitamin D plays an important part in regulating blood pressure by affecting renin levels through the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system."
Reference:
Lu Han, Xin-Juan Xu, Jun-Shi Zhang, Hai-Ming Liu, "Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Levels of Renin and Angiotensin in Essential Hypertension", International Journal of Clinical Practice, vol. 2022, Article ID 8975396, 6 pages, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8975396
