title: Effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure in blacks.
abstract: Blacks have significantly higher rates of hypertension than whites, and lower circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. There are few data about the effect of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation on blood pressure in blacks. During 2 winters from 2008 to 2010, 283 blacks (median age, 51 years) were randomized into a 4-arm, double-blind trial for 3 months of placebo, 1000, 2000, or 4000 international units of cholecalciferol per day. At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, systolic and diastolic pressure and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured. The 3-month follow-up was completed in 250 (88%) participants. The difference in systolic pressure between baseline and 3 months was +1.7 mm Hg for those receiving placebo, -0.66 mm Hg for 1000 U/d, -3.4 mm Hg for 2000 U/d, and -4.0 mm Hg for 4000 U/d of cholecalciferol (-1.4 mm Hg for each additional 1000 U/d of cholecalciferol; P=0.04). For each 1-ng/mL increase in plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D, there was a significant 0.2-mm Hg reduction in systolic pressure (P=0.02). There was no effect of cholecalciferol supplementation on diastolic pressure (P=0.37). Within an unselected population of blacks, 3 months of oral vitamin D3 supplementation significantly, yet modestly, lowered systolic pressure. Future trials of vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure are needed to confirm these promising results, particularly among blacks, a population for whom vitamin D deficiency may play a more specific mechanistic role in the pathogenesis of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Renal Division and Kidney Clinical Research Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 41 Ave Louis Pasteur, Suite 120, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jforman@partners.org
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: Jamil B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Kimmie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Bettina F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Elizabeth Gonzalez
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hayden
authors.forename: Gary G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Paulette D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Chandler
authors.forename: Bruce W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Hollis
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Emmons
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D001741:Black or African American; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D002762:Cholecalciferol