title: Vitamin D and the prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases: a review of the current evidence.
abstract: Vitamin D plays an essential role in bone mineralization and calcium homeostasis. More recently, there has been growing evidence for a role of vitamin D in extraskeletal health, including beneficial effects in the cardiovascular system. Daylight exposure and vitamin D intake in many western populations are insufficient for maintaining an adequate vitamin D status. It is at present unclear whether vitamin D supplementation could improve cardiovascular health. This paper summarizes the evidence from observational studies and randomized-controlled trials on the relation of vitamin D with blood pressure (BP) and risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Epidemiological data suggest that optimal vitamin D status is important for CVD prevention, but results from different studies are conflicting and confounding cannot be ruled out. Randomized-controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation and BP have yielded inconsistent results, and trials that addressed the effect of vitamin D on CVDs are lacking. It is therefore premature to recommend supplemental vitamin D intake specifically for the prevention of hypertension or CVDs. Data from large, well-controlled clinical trials in this field with vitamin D supplements of sufficiently high doses are awaited to settle this issue.
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands. marianne.geleijnse@wur.nl
authors.forename: Johanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geleijnse
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D