A recent study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society suggests that vitamin D and calcium supplementation can help lower blood pressure in older adults with obesity, though higher doses of vitamin D did not offer additional benefits. The study highlights how vitamin D supplementation, when combined with calcium, resulted in significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure among individuals in this demographic.
The Study
Researchers explored the potential of vitamin D supplementation to reduce blood pressure in older adults with obesity, assessing whether exceeding the recommended daily intake would yield greater results. The study, a post hoc analysis of a previous randomized control trial (RCT), was conducted at multiple medical centers in Lebanon, including the American University of Beirut Medical Center and St. Joseph University Hospital.
The study involved 221 participants, all of whom had obesity, and were randomly assigned to receive either 600 IU or 3,750 IU of vitamin D3 per day, combined with calcium, over the course of one year. The researchers compared the effects of these two dosing regimens on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
Results
The study found that both the low and high-dose groups experienced a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with the high-dose group showing a more consistent and significant reduction at the six- and twelve-month marks. However, increasing the vitamin D dose beyond the recommended 600 IU did not produce further benefits.
Notably, individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) and low vitamin D levels experienced the most significant reductions in blood pressure. For participants with a BMI greater than 30, systolic blood pressure decreased in both groups, but diastolic blood pressure only decreased in the high-dose group.
Implications
Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan, a lead researcher from the American University of Beirut Medical Center, emphasized that vitamin D supplementation could potentially reduce blood pressure in older adults and those with obesity, particularly in individuals who are deficient in vitamin D. However, she pointed out that there was no additional benefit from using higher doses of vitamin D compared to the standard recommended dose.
“Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such as older individuals, people with obesity, and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” Dr. Fuleihan said in a press release. “However, higher doses of vitamin D, compared to the IOM’s recommended daily dose, did not provide additional health benefits.”
Conclusion
The findings suggest that vitamin D and calcium supplementation may be beneficial in reducing blood pressure in older adults with obesity, but further research is needed to determine the optimal dosage. The study’s authors called for more individualized patient-level meta-analyses to confirm the findings and better understand how age, hypertension, and body mass index influence the response to supplementation.
“Age, hypertension, high body mass index, and possibly dose appear to be important factors influencing this response,” the authors concluded. “If confirmed, further studies should explore the ideal dose for optimal outcomes.”
These results highlight the potential of vitamin D supplementation as a cost-effective and accessible intervention to address hypertension in older adults with obesity, but more research is required to refine recommendations for the most effective dosing strategies.
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