Oral regimen for three months found to be effective, but no result seen on diastolic readings
THURSDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation lowers systolic blood pressure in blacks, according to a study published in the April issue of Hypertension.
John P. Forman, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues randomized 283 blacks (median age, 51 years) to receive 1,000, 2,000, or 4,000 international units of cholecalciferol, or placebo daily. Systolic and diastolic pressure and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured at baseline and at three and six months.
The researchers found that the difference in systolic pressure between baseline and three months was +1.7 mm Hg for those receiving placebo, −0.66 mm Hg for 1,000 U/d, −3.4 mm Hg for 2,000 U/d, and −4.0 mm Hg for 4,000 U/d of cholecalciferol (−1.4 mm Hg for each additional 1,000 U/d of cholecalciferol). There was a significant 0.2-mm Hg reduction in systolic pressure for each 1-ng/mL increase in plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Cholecalciferol supplementation had no effect on diastolic pressure.
"Within an unselected population of blacks, three months of oral vitamin D3 supplementation significantly, yet modestly, lowered systolic pressure," the authors write.
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