Does Vitamin D Protect Against High BP?
Early Research in Young Women Suggests It Does By Salynn Boyles WebMD Health News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD Sept. 24, 2009 — Women who do not have enough vitamin D before menopause may have an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure years later, new research suggests. Vitamin D deficiency before age 45 was associated with a threefold increased risk for hypertension in midlife. Researchers analyzed data from a Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study that followed 559 women in their late 20s, 30s, and early 40s for 15 years. Vitamin D levels were measured soon after the women entered the study and blood pressure readings were taken each year. By the end of the trial, when the average age of the women was 53, about one in four had developed high blood pressure. Vitamin D deficiency earlier in life appeared to be a predictor of hypertension more than a decade later, lead researcher Flojaune C. Griffin, MPH, tells WebMD. The research was presented in Chicago at the American He
