Nutritional status and calcium levels in serum and urine of primary hypertensives and normotensives

This research has been designed for the determination of the nutritional status, serum and urinary calcium (UCa) levels and correlation between UCa and blood pressure (BP). 31 Volunteers' patients with essential hypertension (HT) and 31 age- and gender-matched normotensive (NT) control subjects living in Ankara and Nigde from Turkey have participated in this study. 62 Subjects' 24 h urinary samples were collected. Besides, for determination of the correlation between 24 h UCa and over-night UCa (12 h UCa), 38 urine samples (9 patients and 29 control subjects) were collected. Nutritional status was evaluated according to their food consumption and physical examination. After analyzing the collected blood and urinary samples, the mineral status was also evaluated. Urinary and serum Ca levels were determined by flame atomic adsorption spectroscopy. The mean 24 h urinary Ca excretion rates (24 h UCaV) in hypertensive and normotensive subjects were 101 ± 69 and 128 ± 85 mg/day, respectively (n = 62, t = 1.378, p > 0.05). The mean serum Ca levels in HT was significantly decreased when compared with the controls (n = 26, t = 2.54, p < 0.05). In NT subjects systolic blood pressure (SBP) correlated positively, with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r = 0.588) and UCaV (r = 0.516) and negatively with dietary Ca (r = -0.617, for all p < 0.05). In NT group DBP correlated positively with body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.05). In HT subjects, SBP correlated positively with DBP (r = 0.741) and negatively with serum Ca (r = -0.633), DBP also correlated negatively with serum Ca (r = 0.727). Among the 38 subjects, overnight calcium excretion rate (12 h UCaV) was correlated with the 24 h UCaV (y = 0.8279x + 42.735, r = 0.81, R2 = 0.653, p < 0.05)