Vitamin D supplements may lower blood pressure in older people with obesity

WASHINGTON—Vitamin D supplements may lower blood pressure in older people with obesity and taking more than the Institutes of Medicine’s (IOM) recommended daily dose does not provide additional health benefits, according to new research published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

The IOM recommends 600 International Units (IU) per day.

Vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide and has been associated with heart disease, immunological diseases, infections and cancer. Studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to a higher risk of hypertension, but evidence for the beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure outcomes is inconclusive.

“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,” said Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan, M.D., M.P.H., F.R.C.P., of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. “High vitamin D doses compared to the IOM’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits.”

The researchers studied 221 older people with obesity taking vitamin D supplements at either 600 IU/day or 3,750 IU/day over the course of a year and found supplementation decreased their blood pressure.

The researchers compared the two groups and found higher doses of vitamin D did not provide additional health benefits. They determined people with obesity and those with low vitamin D levels benefited the most.

Other study authors include Maya Rahme of the American University of Beirut Medical Center; Laila Al-Shaar of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pa.; and Hani Tamim of the American University of Beirut Medical Center and the Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This research received financial support from the Office of Dietary Supplements, the University Research Board of the American University of Beirut, the Council for Research of the Saint Joseph University of Beirut, the National Council for Scientific Research, the Mayo Clinic, and the Odense University Hospital.

The manuscript, “Blood Pressure Decreases in Overweight Elderly Individuals on Vitamin D: A Randomized Trial,” was published online.

The Endocrine Society’s Vitamin D Clinical Practice Guideline provides more recommendations for vitamin D supplementation in older adults.

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