Increase of Vitamin D Supplements Could Lower Blood Pressure Among Older Individuals With Obesity

Published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, researchers assessed the use of vitamin D supplements in lowering blood pressure in older adults with obesity. The study evaluated benefits of taking more than recommended daily dose of vitamin D among this patient population.¹

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The Institutes of Medicine’s (IOM) recommends 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day.¹ On average, an individual receives around 168 to 204 IU of vitamin D daily from food intake, according to the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).² Many individuals experience vitamin D deficiency as their diet does not meet IOMs recommended dose. However, the study authors noted that lack of vitamin D has been linked with heart disease, immunological diseases, infections, cancer, and high risk of hypertension.¹

Former studies have found a connection between 25 hydroxyvitamin D—a form of vitamin D that the liver produces—with blood pleasure. However, results from randomized trials displayed conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of increased vitamin D intake with a lower risk of hypertension.³

The current study investigated the impact of a vitamin D3 supplementation when administered with calcium on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The post hoc exploratory analysis was conducted using previous evidence from a multicenter, double-blind, randomized control trial (RCT), which was managed at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), St Joseph University Hospital, and Rafic Hariri Governmental University Hospital.³

The study included a total of 221 older individuals with obesity that were randomly assigned to take 600 IU or 3750 IU of vitamin D3 a day with a calcium dose over the course of a year.³

The researchers compared the 2 dosing groups and found that a higher dose of vitamin D did not demonstrate further health benefits. However, the study authors noted that individuals with obesity and low vitamin D levels had the most benefit.¹

“Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such older people, people with obesity, and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan, MD, MPH, FRCP, of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, said in the press release. “High vitamin D doses compared to the IOM’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits.”¹

The study authors noted that in the overall group, SBP and DBP demonstrated a significant decrease and reached individuals in the high-dose group at 6 and 12 months. While results were similar for individuals in the low dose group, they did not reach statical significance. Further results displayed that among individuals with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, SBP decreased in the high and lose group, as DBP only decreased among the high-dose group.^1,3

The findings suggest that vitamin D and calcium decreased SBP and DBP among older individuals with obesity, but an increase of vitamin D did not display significant benefits.^1,3

“In our study such a combination (calcium with vitamin D) decreased BP at both doses, but more consistently at the high dose. Age, [hypertension], high [body mass index], and possibly dose, appear to be important modulators of such a response. Individual patient-level meta-analyses are needed to validate our findings, and if confirmed, to investigate the optimal dose to be used,” the study authors said.³

REFERENCES

1. Vitamin D supplements may lower blood pressure in older people with obesity. News release. EurekAlert!. November 12, 2024. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063997

2. Vitamin D. National Institutes of Health. July 26, 2024. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

3. Rahme M, Al-Shaar L, Tamim H, El-Hajj Fuleihan G. Blood Pressure Decreases in Overweight Elderly Individuals on Vitamin D: A Randomized Trial. J Endocr Soc. 2024;8(12):bvae168. Published 2024 Nov 12. doi:10.1210/jendso/bvae168