Dietary calcium and blood pressure: modifying factors in specific populations

Abstract

Epidemiologic findings continue to add to the body of evidence supporting a relationship between calcium intake and blood pressure. These findings also indicate that there is a threshold of the potential protective effect of adequate calcium intake, below which the risk of hypertension increases at a greater rate. The set point of this threshold, estimated at 700-800 mg/d, may be modified by a variety of factors including dietary patterns and components, lifestyle, and genetics. This may explain, at least in part, the heterogeneous response observed in dietary-intervention studies. In animal models of hypertension it was shown that greater amounts of calcium must be given to cause a blood pressure change comparable with that in normal animals, suggesting that in high-risk human populations in which calcium metabolism may be disordered, calcium intake may have to be increased to amounts greater than 700-800 mg/d to demonstrate the blood-pressure-lowering effect. Calcium intake at or above the currently recommended daily allowance of 800 mg could be of potential benefit to certain racial groups, individuals ingesting excessive alcohol, and pregnant women, all of whom generally consume low amounts of calcium and who are at higher risk of developing hypertension.

Dairy and blood pressure: a fresh look at the evidence

“…study, which indicated that baseline calcium was important for a dairy‐mediated blood pressure response. There is strong evidence that the magnitude of the beneficial effect of dairy foods and calcium on blood pressure may be threshold dependent . For instance, additional calcium in habitually low consumers may lower blood pressure; however, blood pressure may not improve in those with normal calcium status.…”

Dairy products and metabolic effects in overweight men and women: results from a 6-mo intervention study

“…A possible threshold for the effect of dairy products and dietary calcium on blood pressure has been suggested at a calcium intake of 700-800 mg/d (28). About half of the participants in the milk group had a calcium intake at baseline that exceeded this limit.…”

Novel Role of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor in Blood Pressure Modulation

“…[65][66][67] Furthermore, epidemiological studies confirm an inverse correlation between Ca 2ϩ intake and blood pressure in specific human populations. 68,69 Several potential mechanisms that may explain the effect of calcium on blood pressure have been proposed, including changes in the secretion of calcium-regulating hormones, such as PTH and parathyroid hypertensive factor. However, there has been little or no consideration to the hypothesis that changes in Ca 2ϩ o concentration may modify the blood pressure through the CaR.…”