Vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for Metabolic Syndrome in Hypertensive Subjects

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is a highly prevalent condition, present in approximately 30-50% of the general population. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes to insulin resistance, pancreatic beta cell dysfunction, and the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome among adult hypertensive patients. Materials & Methods: This is a cross sectional study, conducted at Department of General Medicine of a tertiary care centre. All adults (age >18 years) diagnosed as essential hypertension were included in the study. 250 residents of Indore city who gave informed consent and met the inclusion criteria were selected as subjects. All subjects were almost equally divided into three groups; depending on serum 25(OH)D level. Following investigations were also done in all patients: Hb, ESR, serum creatinine, fasting blood sugar, serum TSH, and Lipid profile. The Non-parametric test, Pearson’s Chi-Square test has been used for qualitative data. Results: Hypertensive Subjects were divided into three groups depending on serum 25(OH)D level. Female hypertensive patients were predisposed for vitamin D deficiency. BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and triglyceride levels were higher in vitamin D deficiency patients. 24% of vitamin D deficiency subjects had metabolic syndrome in comparison to 12% of vitamin D insufficiency subjects and 8% of vitamin D sufficiency subjects had metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: In summary, vitamin D deficiency also has extra-skeletal effects that impact on the development of various pathologies including those that make up a large majority of morbidity and mortality; metabolic syndromes. Our findings suggested that serum 25(OH)D concentrations were inversely associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome among hypertensive subjects.