Vitamin D supplements are ineffective at lowering blood pressure, according to a recent study.

A new data review suggests that vitamin D, nicknamed "sunshine vitamin" because the nutrient is produced when skin is exposed to sunlight, should not be used as an antihypertensive, HealthDay reported.

For the new study, a team led by Dr. Miles Witham of the University of Dundee in Scotland analyzed clinical trial data and individual patient data with regard to vitamin D supplementation and blood pressure. The authors included 46 trials (4,541 participants) and individual patient data were obtained for 27 trials (3,092 participants).

In both clinical trial and individual patient data, no effect was seen on systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure due to vitamin D supplementation.

"The results of this analysis do not support the use of vitamin D or its analogues as an individual patient treatment for hypertension or as a population-level intervention to lower BP," the study concludes.

Intervention studies have produced conflicting evidence on the blood pressure -lowering effect of vitamin D. An increasing number of clinical trials of have studied vitamin D and cardiovascular health.

"Health claims related to vitamins and nutritional supplements need to be validated in prospective, randomized clinical trials," Dr. Robert Rosenson, director of the Cardiometabolic Unit at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told HealthDay. "Currently, there is a false public perception that certain vitamins or supplement therapies work...costing the public unnecessary costs, without the necessary scientific evidence supporting their health claims."

Rosenson was not involved in the study.

The findings are detailed in JAMA Internal Medicine.