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Mark R. Goldstein, MD; Luca Mascitelli, MD; Francesca Pezzetta, MD

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

We read the interesting observational study by Alpérovitch and colleagues¹ describing an inverse relationship between outdoor temperature and blood pressure in a large sample of elderly individuals in France. We suggest that some of the mechanisms involved in this relationship might also be due to seasonal variations in blood vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D inadequacy is exceedingly common, affecting more than half of the elderly population.² Blood levels of vitamin D are typically higher in the summer and lower in the winter months, presumably from differences in seasonal sunlight exposure.³ Vitamin D is a negative regulator of the renin-angiotensin system.⁴ Not surprisingly, UV-B radiation has been shown to increase vitamin D levels and decrease blood pressure.⁵

Therefore, it is plausible that decreases in blood levels of vitamin D in the winter months, resulting from less sunlight exposure, leads to higher . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Relationship Between Blood Pressure and Outdoor Temperature in a Large Sample of Elderly Individuals: The Three-City Study
Annick Alpérovitch, Jean-Marc Lacombe, Olivier Hanon, Jean-François Dartigues, Karen Ritchie, Pierre Ducimetière, and Christophe Tzourio
Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(1):75-80.
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