Ravinandana Gowda H. V, Mumtaz Ali Khan
BACKGROUND: Recent research shows that vitamin D deficiency could be a risk factor in many chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, auto immune disease and tuberculosis. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in patients with primary hypertension. This study also attempts to demonstrate an inverse co-relation between vitamin D levels and primary hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 patients who are primary hypertensive were selected, their vitamin D levels measured and the vitamin D levels were compared to age and sex matched non hypertensive controls. STATISTICAL METHODS: Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis has been carried out in the present study. ANOVA test and Chi-square test was applied for quantitative and qualitative data respectively to find significant associations between two variables. RESULTS: It is seen from this study that serum vitamin D levels was lower in hypertensive patients when compared to non-hypertensive controls. Hypertensive patients had lower levels of vitamin D with vitamin D status of deficiency in 50% of the cases and insufficiency in 43.3% of the cases and normal levels in 6.7% of the cases. Non hypertensive controls showed vitamin D status of normal in 66.7% of controls and insufficiency in 33.3% of the controls without deficiency. Age of the cases, duration of hypertension, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure inversely correlated to vitamin D levels. Body mass index, diet of the patient, alcohol consumption, number of anti-hypertensive drugs, drug compliance, family history of hypertension and fundus status did not correlate to vitamin D levels. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the observations of the study, Vitamin D is an independent risk factor that is associated with primary or essential hypertension. The level of vitamin D also correlated inversely to age, duration of hypertension and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
