Taking a daily dose of 600 International Units (IU) per day of vitamin D may be helpful in managing healthy blood pressure, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

According to the authors, vitamin D deficiency is common and associated with hypertension risk, but evidence of the beneficial effect of supplements on blood pressure outcomes remains inconclusive.

“Our study found that vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such as older people, people with obesity, and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan, MD, MPH, FRCP, of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. “High vitamin D doses compared to the IOM (Institutes of Medicine)’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits.”

The researchers treated 221 older, obese study participants who were given a vitamin D supplement containing either 600 IU or 3,750 IU daily, over the course of a year. They found that both groups experienced decreases in blood pressure, however, the higher doses of vitamin D didn’t appear to offer any additional benefits. The strongest blood pressure benefits were experienced in people with low vitamin D levels at baseline, and people with obesity.

In the overall group, vitamin D reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) by an average of -3.5 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by an average of -2.8 mm Hg, by the end of the one-year treatment period. There were no significant differences observed between the high- and low-dose groups.