Every 10 percent increase in vitamin D level resulted in a 0.12-mm-Hg decrease in blood pressure and 2 percent reduced risk of hypertension in a recent analysis of data from nearly 150,000 people. These associations were consistent across varying age, sex, method of blood pressure measurement, or body-mass index, Medscape reports.

The research, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, supports previous research on the subject, and further suggests a causal relationship between elevated vitamin D levels and reduced blood pressure, as well as hypertension. The “mendellian randomization” format of the study, which mimics the statistical properties of a prospective randomized trial, allows for the conclusion of a causal relationship.

“In view of the costs and side effects associated with antihypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of hypertension with vitamin D is very attractive,” the study’s lead author said in a news release.

Click here to read more from Medscape.

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