- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief
- Know Your Asthma Triggers
- Air Quality Better in Northeast, Midwest
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Acupuncture, Real or Fake, Eases Back Pain
- Hypnosis Cuts Hot Flashes for Breast Cancer Survivors
- Traditional Chinese Therapy May Help Ease Eczema
- ANIMAL CARE
- Beware of Dog Bites
- 'Comfort Dogs' Come to Emotional Rescue
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
- BONES & JOINTS
- Weight Loss Might Not Curb Knee Arthritis
- Health Tip: Back Pain in Children
- Body Fat, Muscle Distribution Linked to RA Disability
- CANCER
- Minorities Distrust Medical System More
- Study Cites Gains in Gall Bladder Cancer Treatment
- Want to Stop Cancer? You Can, Experts Say
- CAREGIVING
- Undoing the 'Big Baby' Trend
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome as Deadly as Ever
- Timing May Matter in Organ Donation Decisions
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Common Antioxidant Might Slow Parkinson's
- A Brisk Pace May Keep Stroke at Bay
- Walk 100 Steps a Minute for 'Moderate' Exercise
- COSMETIC
- Gum Chewing May Cut Craving for Snacks
- Wrinkle Fillers Need Better Label Warnings: FDA Panel
- Get Sugared!.... Its a sweet choice for hair removal
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Gummy Bears Join Cavity Fight
- Gum Disease Treatment Doesn't Cut Preterm Birth Risk
- Hormones May Be to Blame for Women's Cavity Rates
- DIABETES
- Diabetes Linked to Cognitive Problems
- Saliva Test Could Monitor Type 2 Diabetes
- Study Shows Turmeric May Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Functional Foods Uncovered
- Mediterranean Diet Plus Exercise Lowers Alzheimer's Risk
- Eating your way to Good Health
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's
- Air Quality Better in Northeast, Midwest
- Stomach Germ May Protect Against Asthma
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Magnetic Pulses to Brain Improve Lazy Eye in Adults
- Brain Pressure More Likely to Cause Vision Loss in Men
- Impotence Drugs Don't Harm Vision: Study
- FITNESS
- Simple Exercise Precautions To Help Keep Baby Boomers Fit
- Moderate Aerobic Exercise Lowers Diabetics' Liver Fat
- Occupational Therapy Plus Exercise Benefits Osteoarthritis
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Soothing Imagery May Help Rid Some Kids of Stomach Pain
- New Yogurt May Ease Stomach Ulcers
- Intestinal Bacteria Trigger Immune Response
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- When Clocks Change, Body May Need Time to Adjust
- Deployment Takes Toll on Army Wives
- HEAD & NECK
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Study Suggests Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Tumors
- Imaging Sheds Light on How Acupuncture Works
- Save Your Aging Brain, Try Surfing The Web
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Chinese Red Yeast Rice May Prevent Heart Attack
- Ingredient in Dark Chocolate Could Guard Against Stroke
- Review Confirms Links Between Diet, Heart Health
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Bacterial Infections May Succumb to Honey
- Swine Flu Is Now a Pandemic Says W.H.O.
- KID'S HEALTH
- Exercise Eases Obesity and Anger in Kids
- Obese Children More Likely to Suffer Lower Body Injuries
- Babies Cared For In Others Homes Might Become Heavy Toddlers
- MEN'S HEALTH
- The Dark Side of Vegetarianism
- Physical Activity May Prolong Survival After Colon Cancer
- Drinking Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Environmental Chemicals May Affect Male Reproduction
- Optimism May Boost Immune System
- Keeping a Healthy Holiday Balance
- PREGNANCY
- Before Conceiving, Take Folic Acid for One Full Year
- Mom's Extra Pregnancy Pounds May Raise Child's Heart Risks
- Music of Mozart Soothes the Preemie Baby
- SENIORS
- The Healthy Habits of Centenarians
- Seniors Cope With Sleep Loss Better Than Young Adults
- Living Alone Increases Odds of Developing Dementia
Lack of Vitamin D Linked to High Blood Pressure
By eHolistic.com Published: 09/25/2009
(HealthDay News) -- Low blood levels of vitamin D in younger women tripled their risk of high blood pressure 15 years later, new research has found.
Vitamin D deficiency, defined as less than 80 nanomoles per liter of blood, was measured in 1993 at the start of the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study, explained study author Flojaune C. Griffin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
By that measure, more than 80 percent of the 559 women first tested in the study had vitamin D deficiency, while 2 percent were being treated for high blood pressure and another 4 percent had undiagnosed high blood pressure.
No association between vitamin D levels and high blood pressure was seen at that time. But in 2008, when 19 percent of the women had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and 6 percent had the condition but didn't know it, the incidence of high blood pressure was three times higher for women who had vitamin D deficiency at the study's start, after adjusting for the effects of age, obesity and smoking, Griffin said.
Griffin was to report on the findings Thursday at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference in Chicago.
What happened to the women in the intervening years in terms of vitamin D intake is unknown, Griffin said. "We don't have any information about how the women were eating beyond that baseline measurement," she noted.
The recommended intake of vitamin D has risen since the study began. Current guidelines call for an intake of 400 International Units (IU) for people under 60 and 600 IUs for those aged 60 and older, Griffin said.
"Exposure of skin to the sun is the most potent way to increase vitamin D levels," she added. "The main food sources include fatty fish, such as wild salmon. Also, milk and milk products are fortified with vitamin D."
There is no way of knowing whether increased vitamin D intake over the years might have affected the incidence of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for such cardiovascular problems as heart attack and stroke, Griffin said.
"This study underscores a growing amount of accumulated data that low vitamin D levels are associated with high blood pressure," said Dr. John P. Forman, an associate physician in the renal division of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
But it's still not certain that raising vitamin D intake can help prevent high blood pressure, Forman added. "We need large randomized trials on that," he said.
Still, he noted, "there are a growing number of studies associating lower vitamin D levels and high blood pressure. This one probably has the longest follow-up."
SOURCES: Flojaune C. Griffin, MPH, doctoral candidate, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor; John P. Forman, M.D., professor, medicine, Harvard Medical School, and associate physician, renal division, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston; Sept. 24, 2009, presentation, American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Conference, Chicago
