Vitamin D and vascular disease: the current and future status of vitamin D therapy in hypertension and kidney disease.
Over the past decade, vitamin D has generated considerable interest as potentially having important effects on the vasculature and the kidney. Animal and human data indicate that vitamin D suppresses the activity of the renin-angiotensin system and improves endothelial function. Observational studies in humans suggest that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are associated with a higher risk of hypertension. However, findings from randomized trials of vitamin D supplementation (with cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol) to lower blood pressure are inconsistent, possibly stemming from variability in study population, sample size, vitamin D dose, and duration. Supplementation with activated vitamin D (i.e., 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or analogues) in patients with chronic kidney disease reduces urine albumin excretion, an important biomarker for future decline in renal function. These studies are reviewed, with special emphasis on recent findings. Definitive studies are warranted to elucidate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on mechanisms of hypertension and kidney disease.
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Anand
A
Vaidya
John P
JP
Forman
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000187:drug effects; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D014807:Vitamin D