Bisphosphonates, vitamin D and calcium supplements in association with blood pressure in men — ASN Events
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Bisphosphonates, vitamin D and calcium supplements in association with blood pressure in men (#112)

Rishitha Panuganti 1 , Kara B Anderson 1 , Kara L Holloway-Kew 1 , Julie A Pasco 1 2 3 , Georgie B Lee 4 5 6
  1. Deakin University, IMPACT – the Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine , Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  2. Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  3. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Prahran, Victoria, Australia
  4. School of Health and Clinical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
  5. School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
  6. Centre for Optimisation of Medicines, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

Osteoporosis treatments and bone health supplements such as vitamin D and calcium have previously been investigated in relation to cardiovascular health, with inconsistent findings. These explorations have previously focused on women and usually derive from clinical trials where exclusion criteria are often strict [1,2]. In this study, we aimed to investigate blood pressure in association with bisphosphonates, vitamin D and calcium supplements in a randomly-selected cohort of Australian men, reflective of the wider community. This study included 862 men (ages 24-98) from the 5-year follow-up (2006-2011) of the Geelong Osteoporosis Study who had complete data for variables of interest. Seated blood pressure was measured with an automated monitor (Takeda Medical UA-1751), and pulse pressure was calculated. Height and weight were measured, and physical activity, alcohol consumption, current smoking and medication use (bisphosphonates, vitamin D and calcium supplements) were self-reported. T-tests, Chi-square tests and multiple linear regression modelling was used to assess the relationship between medications/supplements and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and pulse pressure), adjusting for confounders (age, height, weight, physical activity, alcohol consumption, current smoking). In total, 16 (1.86%) participants were using a bisphosphonate, 58 (6.73%) a calcium supplement and 25 (2.90%) a vitamin D supplement. These medications were not mutually exclusive. No difference was detected in blood pressure (systolic, diastolic or pulse pressure) between those who took bisphosphonates, calcium or vitamin D supplements, and those who did not (p=0.376, p=0.147 and p=0.152, respectively). In separate crude models, calcium supplement use was associated with diastolic blood pressure (coefficient: -3.67, 95% CI: -6.95-0.38, p=0.029) but was attenuated after adjustment for confounders (p=0.222). Similarly, vitamin D supplement use showed a borderline association with pulse pressure (coefficient: 5.73, 95% CI: -0.89-12.34, p=0.090), which became non-significant after adjusting for confounders (p=0.465). Bisphosphonate use had no significant associations. These data suggests that bisphosphonates, vitamin D and calcium supplements do not have an independent association with blood pressure in men. Future work involves exploring other key elements of cardiovascular health including longitudinal assessment of cardiac risks to identify potential risk or benefit of these drugs for men.

  1. Sözen T, Özışık L, Başaran NÇ. An overview and management of osteoporosis. Eur J Rheumatol. 2017 Mar;4(1):46–56. doi:10.5152/eurjrheum.2016.048
  2. Gao Z, Chen Z, Sun A, Deng X. Gender differences in cardiovascular disease. Med Nov Technol Devices. 2019 Dec;4:100025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medntd.2019.100025