Study: Vitamin D deficiency in women increases risk of hypertension

WASHINGTON White women with vitamin D deficiencies early in life are three times more likely to have hypertension by the time they reach middle age, Reuters reported Thursday morning, citing University of Michigan School of Public Health presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.

Researchers in Michigan examined data on 559 women beginning in 1992, and found that those with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to have high blood pressure 15 years later in 2007. More than 10% of women with vitamin D deficiencies were diagnosed with hypertension in 2007, versus 3.7% of those who were not vitamin D deficient.