title: Association of calcium concentration with pulse pressure in older women: data from a large population-based multicentric study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High arterial pulse pressure is a predictor of cardiovascular morbimortality. Mineral metabolism has been associated with blood pressure regulation. Our objective was to determine which variable among serum calcium, parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, was associated with pulse pressure among older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study corresponding to the baseline assessment of the EPIDOS study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five French cities including Amiens, Lyon, Montpellier, Paris and Toulouse.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized sample of 610 community-dwelling older women (mean age 80.2±3.5years) using no antihypertensive drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum calcium, parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations; supine pulse pressure after 15 minutes of rest (hypertension defined as pulse pressure >50mmHg). Age, body mass index, the number of morbidities and of drugs daily taken, diabetes mellitus, dysthyroidy, the use of estrogenic drugs, smoking, alcohol consumption, practice of a regular physical activity, creatinine clearance, and the effects of season and study centers were used as potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hypertensive participants (n=539) had higher calcium concentrations than normotensive ones (94.33±4.12mg/L versus 93.28±3.36mg/L respectively, P=0.040). There were no between-group differences for serum parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. The multiple logistic regressions examining the serum calcium, parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations as predictors of hypertension found an association only with calcium (adjusted odds ratio=1.19, P=0.015), but not with parathyroid hormone (adjusted OR=1.01, P=0.349) or 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration (adjusted OR=0.99, P=0.971).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased serum calcium concentration was independently and positively associated with high pulse pressure in our study, possibly due to increased arterial stiffness. Interventions aimed at normalizing calcaemia may be attractive to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular risk in older adults.
authors.affiliation: C. Annweiler, MD, PhD, Department of Neuroscience, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Angers University Hospital, 49933 Angers Cedex 9, France; E-mail: CeAnnweiler@chu-angers.fr; Phone: ++33 2 41 35 54 86; Fax: ++33 2 41 35 48 94.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mateus-Hamdan
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beauchet
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rolland
authors.forename: A-M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schott
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Annweiler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001158:Arteries; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D012307:Risk Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D; D002118:Calcium