Changes in blood pressure and lipid levels in young women consuming a vitamin D-fortified skimmed milk: A randomised controlled trial

Vitamin D exerts a variety of extra-skeletal functions. Aim: to know the effects of the consumption of a vitamin D-fortified skimmed milk on glucose, lipid profile, and blood pressure in young women. Methods: a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind parallel-group trial of 16 weeks duration was conducted in young women with low iron stores who consumed a skimmed milk fortified with iron and 200 IU/day (5 μg) of vitamin D (D-fortified group, n = 55), or a placebo without vitamin D (D-placebo group, n = 54). A reference group (n = 56) of iron-sufficient women was also recruited. Results: baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was inversely correlated with total-cholesterol (r = -0.176, p = 0.023) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-chol) (r = -0.176, p = 0.024). During the assay, LDL-cholesterol increased in the D-placebo group (p = 0.005) while it tended to decrease in the D-fortified group (p = 0.07). Neither group displayed changes in total-cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-chol), triglycerides or glucose levels. Systolic (p = 0.017) and diastolic (p = 0.010) blood pressure decreased during the assay in the D-fortified group without significant differences compared to the D-placebo. Conclusion: consumption of a dairy product fortified with vitamin D reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure but does not change lipid levels in young women. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This study was financed by Project AGL2009-11437. L. Toxqui and R. Blanco-Rojo received JAE pre-doctoral grants from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the European Social Fund. The authors are grateful to Jorge Parra for the lab assistance and to the volunteers who participated in the study.Peer Reviewe