Associations between Physical Activity Trajectories and Incident Hypertension

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cardiovascular Health

Background:

• Hypertension is a major global health concern.
• Understanding physical activity (PA) patterns throughout adulthood is crucial for disease prevention.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to identify modifiable risk factors for hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize distinct physical activity (PA) trajectories across adulthood.
• To investigate the association between these PA trajectories and the risk of developing incident hypertension.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 2004-2011.
• Employed Group-Based Trajectory Modeling (GBTM) to identify PA patterns.
• Applied Cox proportional hazards models to assess hypertension risk.

Main Results:

• Identified five distinct PA trajectories in men and two in women.
• A trajectory of medium-heavy PA in early adulthood followed by gradual decline was significantly associated with reduced hypertension risk in men.
• Hazard ratios (HRs) for this trajectory ranged from 0.70 to 0.80 across different models.

Conclusions:

• Distinct long-term physical activity trajectories exist in adult men and women.
• A specific PA trajectory, characterized by medium-heavy activity early in adulthood with a subsequent gradual decline, is linked to a decreased risk of hypertension in men.