- In 2024, an estimated 1.4 billion people around the world were living with hypertension.
- There are several modifiable risk factors that can help a person possibly lower their high blood pressure risk, such as eating a heart-healthy diet.
- Certain nutrients like potassium and magnesium may help improve a person’s blood pressure.
- A says that taking a daily multivitamin long-term may help reduce high blood pressure risk and blood pressure overall in older adults following a low-quality diet.
According to the World Heart Federation, high blood pressure is the largest risk factor for death worldwide, and is responsible for almost half of all heart disease and stroke-related deaths globally.
While hypertension risk factors like genetics and ethnicity are not changeable, there are several modifiable risk factors that can help a person possibly lower their high blood pressure risk.
Now, a new study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, says that taking a daily multivitamins long-term may help reduce high blood pressure risk and blood pressure overall in older adults following a low-quality diet.
COSMO recruited about 8,900 women ages 65 and older and men ages 60 and over to test the potential effects of cocoa extract and multivitamin-multimineral (MVM) supplements on older adult health.
“Despite progress, hypertension remains highly prevalent for many older adults, with poor adherence to treatment,” Rikuta Hamaya, MD, PhD, MS, instructor in the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Mass General Brigham, and corresponding author of this study, told Medical News Today.
“Since vitamins and minerals play a known biological role in regulating blood pressure, identifying a simple, accessible strategy like supplementation could provide an important tool for prevention,” Hamaya noted.
“Previous trials focusing on single nutrients, such as vitamin D or E, have produced inconsistent results regarding blood pressure control,” he continued. “We chose to study a comprehensive multivitamin because it contains a broad spectrum of micronutrients that may work synergistically, and it is very commonly used in [the] U.S.”
At the study’s conclusion, the researchers reported they did not find any significant effects linked to multivitamin use and overall high blood risk or blood pressure levels.
“Individuals with lower diet quality have insufficient baseline levels of key micronutrients such as antioxidants, potassium, and magnesium that are essential for regulating blood pressure and vessel functions. For these individuals, the multivitamin likely restores these levels, while those with high-quality diets already have sufficient intake and therefore derive no incremental benefit.”
“These findings suggest that multivitamins may offer specific benefits on blood pressure among individuals who likely have nutrient gaps due to a lower-quality diet,” he continued. “Furthermore, the improvements seen in participants with normal baseline blood pressure indicate that supplementation might be most effective as an early preventative measure before significant vascular damage or chronic hypertension sets in.”
“We aim to replicate the specific interaction between diet quality and multivitamin supplementation on blood pressure and hypertension in other large trials,” Hamaya added.
“Importantly, because our study population was older and predominantly white, a critical next step is investigating these effects in younger and middle-aged adults, as well as more diverse populations to ensure the findings are generalizable,” said the study author.
MNT also had the opportunity to speak with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, about this research.
“This study found that daily multivitamin intake over a course of over 3 years did not significantly influence blood pressure control, except in a group of study participants deemed to have lower ‘dietary quality’,” Chen, who was not involved in the study, said.
“These findings are consistent with our understanding of multivitamins, but do suggest a possible avenue of future research into the interaction between ‘dietary quality’ and vitamin supplementation, and their potential effects on biological outcomes,” he added.
“Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most prevalent and serious risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” Chen continued. “We need to better control blood pressure in our population in order to help reduce the tremendous burden that heart disease has on our society. Future research can focus on specific limitations in diet ‘quality’ and potential benefits from multivitamin supplementation.”