Bone Abstracts

Arterial stiffness or pulse wave velocity (PWV) is increasingly recognized as a strong predictor of future cardiovascular events and all cause mortality. Literature date indicate a relationship between vitamin D (25-OHD) deficiency and arterial stiffness in isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), but it is still unclear how 25-OHD deficiency may contribute to functional changes of the arterial wall in hypertensive patients. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between PWV at carotid artery, 25-OHD and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in postmenopausal women with ISH. Seventy five consecutive ambulatory postmenopausal women with ISH (mean 66.9±7.8) were recruited for the study. In the morning, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were recorded in seated position by a semi-automated oscillometric method, and a venous sample was taken to measure 25-OHD and PTH levels. Finally, in all patients, an echocolor-doppler of the carotid vessels was performed (MyLab 60 with a 7.5 MHz probe, Esaote, GE, Italy), to assess, by automatic RF echo-tracking software, intima-media thickening (IMT) and RF quality arterial stiffness (QAS). After adjusting for age, PWV showed a positive correlation with systolic BP (r=0.33; P<0.01) and with PTH (r=0.35; P<0.01) and a negative correlation with 25-OHD serum levels (r=−0.40; P<0.01). Moreover, in a multivariate regression model 25-OHD levels were independently associated with PWV at carotid artery. In conclusion, in postmenopausal women with ISH the serum levels of 25-OHD are independent predictor of PWV and the negative effect of reduced levels of 25-OHD might mediated by PTH. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to define the role of reduced levels of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of hypertension.