Mentor

Johnson, Frances

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

Background

It is uncertain if vitamin D supplementation improves cardiovascular health, more specifically, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and the data from previous trials investigating supplementation and the effects on the blood pressure are limited.

Methods

The following scholarly project was a retrospective observational study, examining randomly selected participants with chronic kidney disease and hypertension from a local nephrology practice. The Student’s t-test, Pearson’s r correlation, and ANOVA statistical tests were utilized to determine if vitamin D supplementation improved the systolic and diastolic blood pressures.

Results

A total of 260 participants were examined. The mean systolic blood pressure of patients using vitamin D supplementation (M = 139.72, SD = 21.69, N = 125) was not significantly different from those without vitamin D supplementation (M 136.67, SD 21.62, N= 135) t(258) = -1.136, p = 0.752). The mean diastolic blood pressure of patients using vitamin D supplementation (M = 82.90, SD 12.28, N = 125) was not significantly different from those without vitamin D supplementation (M = 82.91, SD 11.22, N = 135) t(258) = -2.84, p = 0.565).

Conclusion

In this retrospective observational study, supplementation with vitamin D did not result in a statistically significant reduction in the systolic or diastolic blood pressures when compared to those who did not take a vitamin D supplement. Future research, which may benefit from considering the confounding variables identified in this study, may provide the needed data to determine if vitamin D supplementation could improve the systolic and diastolic blood pressures in those with CKD.

KEY WORDS: cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol, vitamin D3, vitamin D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

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