Blood Pressure in Blacks and Calcium (BBC) and Vitamin D Study

Study Summary

Adequate levels of vitamin D are essential for bone health at all ages but low levels of vitamin D may also negatively impact other aspects of health such as blood pressure. The investigators have previously shown that adults with African ancestry living near the equator have much higher levels of vitamin D and higher levels of blood pressure compared to adults with African ancestry living in the Chicago area. Multiple clinical trials have examined vitamin D supplementation for reducing blood pressure levels but very few studies have focused on adults with African ancestry and low vitamin D levels. In addition, most previous clinical trials have not addressed calcium intake. While vitamin D may modulate blood pressure via its actions on activation of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system, it is also possible that vitamin D mediates blood pressure via its effects on gastrointestinal calcium absorption. This pilot study is a one arm study, which will assess the safety and feasibility of supplementing 15 young adults with African ancestry and low vitamin D levels with 5,000 IU of Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) combined with 1000 mg of elemental calcium daily for 3 months. Participants will be recruited from the Maywood Illinois and surrounding areas with flyers and brochures. The investigators will also contact previous participants of the Modeling the Epidemiologic Study/Vitamin D Ancillary Study by phone and letters. At baseline, all participants will have blood pressure measured and will provide a fasting serum specimen and a 24-hour urine collection. Calcium, parathyroid hormone level vitamin D will be measured in serum specimens and 24-hour urine calcium excretion will be measured. Repeat visits will be completed at 6 and 12 weeks of follow-up to again measure resting blood pressure and serum calcium and vitamin D levels. The overall goal is to collect pilot data to help design a larger trial of vitamin D and calcium supplementation for lowering blood pressure in

Primary Outcome

Seated blood pressure is measured at baseline and at 6 and 12 week follow-up visits in the clinic using an appropriate sized cuff after a rest period using an automated device (Omron). Blood pressure will be measured three times in one minute intervals at each time point and the average of these three recordings will be recorded as the mean blood pressure at each time point. Arm circumference will be measured to ensure the correct cuff size is used for all blood pressure measurements including h

Interventions

• DRUG Cholecalciferol