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Geographical variations in blood pressure in British men and women
N G Bruce1, D G Cook, A G Shaper
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and General Practice, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, England.
Insights
Geographical variations in blood pressure are evident by age 25-29 in Britain. These early differences in blood pressure correlate with later cardiovascular mortality risks.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Public health research
- Human physiology
Background:
- Blood pressure (BP) exhibits geographical variations within populations.
- Understanding these variations is crucial for public health strategies and cardiovascular disease prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate geographical differences in blood pressure across nine British towns.
- To determine the age at which these geographical variations become established.
- To explore the association between geographical blood pressure variations and cardiovascular mortality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an automatic sphygmomanometer for BP measurements.
- Recruited 2596 men and women across three age groups: 25-29, 40-44, and 55-59 years.
- Analyzed age-adjusted town means for systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (MAP).
Main Results:
- Significant geographical variations in systolic blood pressure (males) and MAP/diastolic BP (both sexes) were observed in the 40-59 age group.
- Similar magnitude differences in blood pressure were found in the 25-29 age group.
- Blood pressure levels at age 25-29 showed high correlation with those at ages 40-59, particularly in males.
- Geographical BP rankings correlated with cardiovascular mortality data.
Conclusions:
- Geographical variations in blood pressure are established by early adulthood (25-29 years).
- These early established variations have implications for long-term cardiovascular health.
- Findings support targeted public health interventions based on regional BP differences.
Abstract:
Geographical variations in blood pressure have been studied using an automatic sphygmomanometer in 2596 men and women aged 25-29, 40-44 and 55-59 living in nine British towns. In males aged 40-59, systolic blood pressure showed a range in age-adjusted town means of 9.0 mmHg (p less than 0.05); in females the difference of 8.6 mmHg was not significant (p = 0.14). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and diastolic at age 40-59 were significantly different between towns for both sexes. Differences at age 25-29 were of a similar magnitude, and the mean town blood pressures at 25-29 correlated highly with those at 40-59 [systolic; males r = 0.74 (p less than 0.05), females r = 0.65 (p = 0.059)]. The ranking of town blood pressures in an earlier study was reflected in the present study, but stronger associations were observed with cardiovascular mortality. It is concluded that geographical blood pressure variations in Britain are established by age 25-29 years.