Relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration and carotid artery intima-media thickness in patients with primary hypertension

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with primary hypertension. Methods We selected 210 primary hypertensive patients, the levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP), 25(OH)D, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and carotid IMT were measured, and age, prior medical histories including duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and smoking status were obtained. The patients were divided into four quartile groups according to the serum 25(OH)D levels (Q1: 37.90 ng/ml, 51 cases). Results Carotid IMT and carotid artery plaque prevalence were significantly higher in subjects with low 25(OH)D compared to those with high 25(OH)D (51.00% vs. 23.53%, P=0.026). Pearson correlation analysis showed that carotid IMT was positively correlated with age, duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, LDL-C, hs-CRP, and was negatively correlated with 25(OH)D. Multivariate regression analysis showed that serum 25(OH)D concentration was an independent predictor of carotid IMT (r=-0.005, P<0.01)and carotid artery plaque prevalence (r=-0.048, P<0.01). Conclusions Serum 25(OH)D level is negatively correlated with carotid IMT. Key words: Hypertension; 25-hydroxy vitamin D; Carotid artery intima-media thickness