PHYSICAL FITNESS AND BLOOD PRESSURE: THE ROLE OF AGE

Most epidemiologic studies have shown an inverse relationship between resting blood pressure and usual levels of physical fitness or activity. The inference is that fitness lowers blood pressure. However, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max—a widely accepted measure of fitness) and blood pressure are both...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of epidemiology 1985-09, Vol.122 (3), p.452-457
Main Authors: SICONOLFI, STEVEN F., LASATER, THOMAS M., McKINLAY, SONJA, BOGGIA, PATRICIA, CARLETON, RICHARD A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aging
Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension
Biological and medical sciences
Blood and lymphatic vessels
Blood Pressure
Body Weight
Cardiology. Vascular system
Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology
Epidemiologic Methods
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Oxygen Consumption
Physical Fitness
Random Allocation
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Most epidemiologic studies have shown an inverse relationship between resting blood pressure and usual levels of physical fitness or activity. The inference is that fitness lowers blood pressure. However, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max—a widely accepted measure of fitness) and blood pressure are both correlated with age; young people usually have lower pressures and higher VO2max, (ml kg−1 min−1). Systolic and diastolic pressures were measured and maximal oxygen uptake was estimated in 184 men and 227 women aged 18–65 years who were randomly selected as part of a cardiovascular risk factor survey conducted in two New England cities between April 1981 and March 1982. Initially, both measures of blood pressure were strongly and inversely correlated with estimated maximal oxygen uptake. However, when the effects of age were partialed out, the strength of the correlations decreased sharply for both males and females. The proportion of the variance in systolic pressure explained by maximal oxygen uptake decreased from 9.6 to 0.8% for males and 21.2 to 2.3% for females. Similar decreases were demonstrated for diastolic pressure in males (14.4 to 2.9%) and females (20.3 to 2.3%). These data indicate that the frequently observed relationship between fitness and blood pressure is strongly influenced by age. Future research to specifically examine the effects of physical activity and of physical fitness on blood pressure is needed.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114126