Cardiovascular risk factor distribution above the age of 75 years in a Belgian community

An elderly Belgian population group anno 1986 consisting of 53 men and 110 women above the age of 75 years with a mean age of 80 and 81 years, respectively, is characterized by relative obesity and low diastolic blood pressure, both in men and women. The SBP/DBP ratio is 1.91 in men and 1.88 in women. HDL-cholesterol levels are relatively high in men. Women still have slightly higher HDL-cholesterol levels than men, the difference between women and men being 3.4 mg/dl. In both sexes HDL-cholesterol correlates negatively with body weight. The 24-hour urinary sodium/potassium ratio is 2.9 in men and 2.5 in women. Factors significantly related to diastolic blood pressure in a multiple regression analysis included being on a low-salt diet, the level of 24-hour urinary potassium excretion and of 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion in men, and body weight, heart rate and the level of 24-hour urinary calcium excretion in women. It may be concluded that significant differences exist between the distribution of cardiovascular risk factors in older compared to middle-aged subjects.