Evidence of a casual relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension: a family-based study

• Published in: Hypertension research 2022-11, Vol.45 (11), p.1814-1822
• Main Authors: Bai, Lanxin, Qu, Chenling, Feng, Yinhua, Liu, Gangqiong, Li, Xing, Li, Wenjie, Yu, Songcheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hypertension; Metabolism; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency
• ISSN: 0916-9636; 1348-4214
• DOI: 10.1038/s41440-022-01004-0

An association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension has been observed in numerous studies. However, blood pressure improvements resulting from supplementation with vitamin D have been inconsistent. The causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension is still unclear and was investigated in this family-based study. A total of 1370 individuals from both vitamin D deficiency and hypertension families were included. First, the heritability of vitamin D deficiency was estimated by the Falconer method. Second, SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) of vitamin D metabolic and functional pathway genes associated with vitamin D deficiency were screened by a family-based association test, and the findings were further verified in nuclear families with vitamin D deficiency. Finally, a family-based association test was applied to investigate the association between selected SNPs associated with vitamin D deficiency and hypertension. The heritability of vitamin D deficiency was 50.4% in this family-based study. Allele C of rs3847987 was a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency (OR: 1.639, 95% CI: 1.170–2.297, P = 0.004). Furthermore, a family-based association of rs3847987 with hypertension was found in both additive and recessive models (P