Background: Patients on chronic dialysis are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. In observational studies\nplasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (p-25(OH) D) levels are inversely correlated with plasma BNP and adverse cardiovascular\noutcomes. Whether a causal relation exists has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis\nthat cholecalciferol supplementation improves cardiac function and reduces blood pressure (BP) and pulse wave\nvelocity (PWV) in patients on chronic dialysis.\nMethods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, we investigated the effect of 75 Ã?µg (3000 IU)\ncholecalciferol daily for 6 months, in patients on chronic dialysis. We performed two-dimensional echocardiography,\nwith doppler and tissue-doppler imaging, 24-h ambulatory BP (24-h BP), PWV, augmentation index (AIx), central BP\n(cBP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurements at baseline and after 6 months.\nResults: Sixty-four patients were allocated to the study. Fifty dialysis patients with a mean age of 68 years (range:\n46ââ?¬â??88) and baseline p-25(OH) D of 28 (20;53) nmol/l completed the trial. Cholecalciferol increased left ventricular (LV)\nvolume, but had no impact on other parameters regarding LV structure or left atrial structure. LV systolic function, LV\ndiastolic function, PWV, cBP, AIx and BNP were not changed in placebo or cholecalciferol group at follow-up. 24-h BP\ndecreased significantly in placebo group and tended to decrease in cholecalciferol group without any difference\nbetween treatments.\nConclusion: Six months of cholecalciferol treatment in patients on chronic dialysis did not improve 24-h BP, arterial\nstiffness or cardiac function.
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