Low Vitamin D May Increase High Blood-Pressure Risk

According to findings published in Hypertension, lower blood levels of vitamin D in the blood are independently associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

Researchers, including John Forman and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, conducted a study of 1,484 healthy women from the second Nurses' Health Study. Cases were compared to a placebo group with similar age, race and other features. The case patients had a significantly lower average blood level of vitamin D—and, compared to women with the highest levels, those with the lowest levels had a 66 percent increased risk of high blood pressure.

Overall, 65.7 percent of the women studied were vitamin D deficient. In those subjects, the odds of developing high blood pressure increased by 47 percent compared to those with adequate levels.

Source: Scientific American, “Low Vitamin D Linked With High Blood Pressure”