Psychosocial stress, dietary calcium and hypertension in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The interactive effects of psychosocial stress and diet on the development of hypertension were investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Psychosocial stress, produced through manipulation of group housing conditions, was evaluated at three levels of dietary calcium and sodium: Low (0.1% Ca2+, 0.25% Na+), Intermediate (1.0% Ca2+, 0.45% Na+), and High (2.0% Ca2+, 1.0% Na+). After 13 weeks of exposure, stressed animals had higher blood pressure and lower serum ionized calcium than nonstressed animals across all diets. Likewise, animals on the low diet had higher blood pressures and lower ionized calcium values than animals on normal or high diets regardless of stress condition. The combination of stress and low diet produced the highest blood pressure and lowest serum ionized calcium values. The results suggest that stress both independently and in combination with dietary Ca2+ altered calcium metabolism. The interaction between psychosocial stress and dietary factors appears to contribute to reductions in serum ionized calcium and elevations in blood pressure in this experimental model of genetic hypertension.