High Blood Pressure

Disturbed calcium metabolism in subjects with elevated diastolic blood pressure.

Reichel H; Liebethal R; Hense HW; Schmidt-Gayk H; Ritz E

Clin Investig 1992 Sep;70(9):748-51

Essential hypertension has been associated with disturbed calcium metabolism, but the available data are controversial. We measured parameters of calcium metabolism in groups of untreated male subjects (n = 78) with elevated diastolic blood pressure (101 +/- 6 mmHg, mean +/- SD) and age-matched male subjects (n = 79) with low diastolic blood pressure (62 +/- 4 mmHg). The participants of the study were drawn from a random population sample. Subjects with high diastolic blood pressure had significantly higher carboxy-terminal parathyroid hormone (PTH) plasma concentrations than controls with low diastolic blood pressure (median 114 vs. 43 pmol/l, P less than 0.01). The 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentrations were comparable in both groups. Individuals with high diastolic blood pressure had significantly lower total serum calcium (2.41 +/- 0.10 vs. 2.47 +/- 0.10 mmol/l, mean +/- SD; P less than 0.01). PTH concentrations were correlated with diastolic pressure (r = -0.39, P less than 0.001). The data are compatible with increased parathyroid activity despite unchanged concentrations of vitamin D metabolites in human hypertension.