Confirmed hypertension and plasma 25(OH)D concentrations amongst elderly men.

OBJECTIVES: the results of experimental studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency activates the renin-angiotensin system and predisposes to hypertension. Results of previous epidemiological studies investigating the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status and hypertension have not been consistent, perhaps because of their sole reliance on office blood pressure (BP) measurements leading to some misclassification of hypertension status. No previous studies have examined the association between 25(OH)D status and confirmed hypertension assessed with both office and 24-h BP measurements. DESIGN: in this cross-sectional study, we investigated 833 Caucasian men, aged 71 ± 0.6 years, to determine the association between plasma 25(OH)D concentrations, measured with high-pressure liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, and the prevalence of hypertension. We used both supine office and 24-h BP measurements for classifying participants as normotensive or confirmed hypertensive; participants with inconsistent classifications were excluded. RESULTS: in a multivariable adjusted logistic regression model, men with 25(OH)D concentrations <37.5 nmol L(-1) had a 3-fold higher prevalence of confirmed hypertension compared to those with ≥ 37.5 nmol L(-1) 25(OH)D (odds ratio = 3.3, 95% CI: 1.0-11.0). CONCLUSIONS: our results show that low plasma 25(OH)D concentration is associated with a higher prevalence of confirmed hypertension.