The low prevalence of hypertension in Falkland Islands men

A morbidity survey in the Falkland Islands, conducted in 1979, showed that Falkland Islands men had a lower prevalence of hypertension than their counterparts in the United Kingdon. Such a difference was not found in women.As a migrant population, Falkland Islanders are unusual in that they moved from a developed society to a more traditional setting. In men, but not in women, the change in environment led to a greater proportion of the population engaging in a high level of habitual physical activity and to a low prevalence of obesity.These findings (based on ICD codes rather than BP measurements) are consistent with the hypothesis that such a change in lifestyle may have resulted in the lower population prevalence of hypertension observed in the morbidity survey, and the implications could be important for public health.