Serum Calcium Levels and Hypertension Among US Adults

Abstract

Serum calcium levels have been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, it is not clear whether serum calcium levels are related to hypertension, a risk factor for CVD. The authors examined the association between serum calcium and hypertension in a representative sample of US adults. A cross-sectional study of 12,405 third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants 20 years and older was conducted. Serum total and ionized calcium levels were analyzed as quartiles. The main outcome of interest was hypertension (n=3437), defined as selfreported use of antihypertensive medication and ⁄ or systolic blood pressure !140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure !90 mm Hg. Elevated serum total calcium levels were positively associated with hypertension, independent of potential confounders including C-reactive protein, estimated glomerular filtration rate, serum albumin, 25(OH)D, and phosphorous. Compared with the lowest quartile of serum total calcium (referent category), the multivariable odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of hypertension was 1.49 (1.15-1.93) for the highest quartile (P=.005). This association persisted in subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age, and race-ethnicity. In contrast, serum ionized calcium levels were not associated with hypertension. Higher serum total calcium levels are positively associated with hypertension in a representative sample of US adults. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).

Serum calcium levels are not associated with coronary heart disease

“…Our results show that serum calcium was higher in cases than in controls. Sabanayagam and Shankar15 reported that higher serum calcium levels were positively correlated with hypertension in a representative sample of US adults, which is consistent with our findings. Further, Cook et al have shown that myeloperoxidase-mediated modulation of intracellular calcium ion levels may exacerbate endothelial dysfunction, a key early event in hypertension 16.…”

Assessment of Albumin Status in Hypertensive Patients with or Without Cataract in Eyes’ Foundation Hospital, Itamogiri, Ogun State, Nigeria

“…The findings revealed that there was significant reduction in albumin concentration of test group B (hypertensive patients with cataract) with Mean ± SD = 44.35 ± 11.99 g/L when compared to the Mean ± SD = 48.12 ± 8.20 g/L of the control samples and this indicates that hypertension (with cataract) had significantly decreased levels of plasma albumin when compared to non-cataract hypertensive patients. This finding is similar to work done by Kayode et al, [9] which revealed significant reduction in plasma albumin concentration level in cataract patients and also in line with the results reported by Sabanayagam et al [10], which state that, people with severe hypertension have a higher risk of cataract than those with mild hypertension. Several studies indicated a linear positive correlation between blood pressure and cataract risk [11; 12] and the duration of hypertension is also an important factor, indicating a relationship between longer duration and increased cataract risk [13].…”

Association of Serum Calcium with Acute Myocardial Infarction

“…Similarly, In a previous study Lind et al 9 found that subjects with a history of MI have significantly higher serum calcium than those without infarction. Our finding of a positive association between elevated serum calcium level and AMI is also consistent with other studies 8,15 . Herrmann et al 16 demonstrated that increased serum calcium predisposes calcific deposition in the valve cusps and coronary arteries, which could cause significant aortic valve stenosis and accelerate coronary atherosclerosis; this can mismatch the myocardial oxygen supply and demand.…”