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CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN AMONG INSUFFICIENTLY ACTIVE ADULTS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Abstract

Nathan R. Weeldreyer1, Zachary S. Leicht1, Marc A. Adams2, Siddhartha S. Angadi, FACSM1. 1University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. 2Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ.

Purpose: Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and is strongly associated with increased mortality risk. Increasing physical activity (PA) has been shown to reduce the risk of hypertension and CVD, however roughly 90% of US adults don’t meet PA guidelines. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to cross-sectionally assess blood pressure across the lifespan in adults a priori selected for being insufficiently active. Methods: Data from this cross sectional, secondary analysis came from a larger clinical trial that included insufficiently active, mostly overweight/obese (93%) adults from the Phoenix region. Subjects had anthropometric and blood pressure testing performed on them at baseline. Multiple regression was used to describe the relationships between age and systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Additionally, sex differences across adult age-groups and differences between obesity classifications were examined. Data are presented as mean ± SD and α was set at 0.05. Results: Five hundred and sixteen subjects were analyzed (Age: 44.8±9.2 (range 19-60), BMI: 33.8±7.2, SBP: 121±13, DBP: 81±10, M/F: 184/332). Regression models revealed a linear increase in SBP across the lifespan. SBP increased by 0.4 mmHg per year with mean SBP in males being 5 mmHg greater than females. DBP had a curvilinear increase with the greatest increase seen between 19-40 years old and a plateau between 40-60. When dividing the cohort by decades of life, individuals 51-60 years old had SBP ~10 mmHg greater than 19-29 years old and 6 mmHg greater than 30-40 years old (124±13 vs 115±12, p = 0.001; and 124±13 vs 118±13, p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, obese inactive individuals had an SBP 6 mmHg greater than normal weight (122±13 vs. 116±11, p = 0.02) and ~4 mmHg greater than those who were overweight (122±13 vs 119±14, p = 0.03) respectively. Conclusion: Our cross-sectional analyses of insufficiently active adults suggests that there is a linear increase in SBP with age. Males on average have SBP 5 mmHg greater than females. Additionally, obese subjects had greater SBP than those in either the normal or overweight BMI groups. Implications for CVD risk reduction in inactive obese populations will be discussed. Supported by R01CA198915

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