Having low levels of Vitamin D 'could raise your risk of high blood pressure'

Low levels of vitamin D can trigger high blood pressure, researchers claim.

The world’s largest genetic study has proved a strong link between changes in blood pressure and a person’s vitamin D intake.

Known as the sunshine vitamin, it  is essential for the immune system, healthy bones and teeth, and the absorption of calcium.

The sunshine vitamin: Taking vitamin D supplements through the winter could cut blood pressure as effectively as some drugs

Researchers used data from 35 studies involving over 155,000 people across Europe and North America to come up with their findings.

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The study showed those with high concentrations of vitamin D in their blood had lower blood pressure.

This meant they had less chance of developing hypertension, the medical term for high blood pressure.

During the study researchers used genetic variants associated with hypertension as markers to chart an individual’s vitamin D status. For every 10 per cent increase in vitamin D concentrations, there was an 8 per cent drop in the risk of developing hypertension.

Oily fish: Vitamin D, found in salmon and other fish, is essential for the immune system and healthy bones

Dr Vimal Karani, who led the study, said he was confident of the findings. ‘To put it in simple terms, by using this approach we can determine the cause and effect and be pretty sure that we’ve come to the right conclusion on the subject,’ he said.

Dr Karani, from the Institute of Child Health, University College London, will present the study today at a European Society of Human Genetics conference.

Danish research last year suggested that taking vitamin D supplements for five months in winter could cut blood pressure as effectively as some drugs.

Dr Karani said: ‘Our study strongly suggests that some cases of cardiovascular disease could be prevented through vitamin D supplements or food fortification.

‘Our new data provide further support for the important non-skeletal effects of vitamin D.

Health trouble: It is common for people throughout the western world to have low vitamin D

‘We believe that we still have a lot to find out about the effect of vitamin D deficiency on health, and we now know that we have the tools to do so.’

It is common for people throughout the western world to have low vitamin D.

Deficiency has been linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, and auto-immune conditions as well as osteomalacia, or the painful condition of soft bones in adults.

The best-known condition caused by the deficiency is the childhood bone disease rickets.Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, was cautious about the findings.

‘At the moment, there’s not enough evidence to recommend that people should increase vitamin D levels to reduce their blood pressure and risk of heart disease,’ she said.

‘However, if future research does prove vitamin D is effective in this way, it has the potential to benefit a large number of people.

‘There are other ways to tackle high blood pressure such as being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight and cutting down on salt in your diet.’

Vitamin D is often called the ‘sunshine vitamin’ because it is made by the action of sunlight on the skin, which accounts for 90 per cent of the body’s supply.

It is also found in foods such as oily fish, eggs and liver, and in fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency does not recommend a specific daily dose of vitamin D unless you are elderly, pregnant, Asian, get little sun exposure or  eat no meat or oily fish.