<b>Antioxidant Vitamins Status of Hypertensive Subjects in Sokoto, Nigeria</b>

Abstract

There is increased evidence that hypertension is associated with increased levels of oxidative stress markers. The current work aimed to estimate blood pressure, vitamins A, C, and E levels in 54 hypertensives attending the outpatient clinic of the  Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria and the results compared with those of apparently healthy nonhypertensive volunteers of comparable age and social status. Blood pressure and Serum levels of vitamins A, C, and E were 161.3±23.0/104±14.0mmHg, 25.8±6.6 μg/dL, 0.40 ± 0.2 mg/dL, 0.40 ± 0.1 mg/dL and 123.1 ± 12.3/82.9 ± 9.2 mmHg, 40.3 ± 6.3 μg/dL, 0.7 ± 0.2 mg/dL and 1.0 ± 0.4 mg/dL in hypertensives and non-hypertensive subjects respectively. There was significantly (P<0.05) increased levels of blood pressure and significantly (P<0.05) decreased levels of antioxidant vitamins in hypertensives. Most (80%) of the hypertensives have deficient serum levels of the vitamins. The results suggest that the hypertensives in the study area have low serum levels of antioxidant vitamins, an indication that the hypertensives are predisposed to increased oxidative onslaught.

Keywords: Hypertension, blood pressure, serum vitamins A, C, and E.