(22-08-07) ESH 2007: Physical activity lowers blood pressure in low-risk populations

A large cohort study conducted in China assessed the impact of physical activity on blood pressure in a low-risk population.
Dr Hanbing Deng of the University of Hong Kong, China, and colleagues analyzed data from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study Phase I, which involved over 10,000 adults aged 50 years or more living in Guangzhou, China. All patients underwent a comprehensive medical examination, including anthropometry, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profiles, and C-reactive protein. The level of physical activity was determined by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and patients were categorized into quartiles based on metabolic equivalent scores (METs).
The researchers found that blood pressure values, including systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure, decreased with increasing quartiles of physical activity. After adjusting for confounding factors, the effect of physical activity on diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure remained statistically significant.
Higher levels of physical activity were also associated with lower body mass index and waist circumference, and improved levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, and C-reactive protein.
Dr Deng concluded that ?increasing physical activity was associated with decreased blood pressure and other vascular risk factors even in this low-risk Chinese population. These favourable effects of physical activity contribute to at least a 3.6% reduction in vascular mortality.?

Source: European Society of Hypertension (ESH) annual meeting, Milan, Italy, 15-19 June 2007, abstract P22.169.

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