© 2007 American Public Health Association DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.055889
Emily D. Parker, David R. Jacobs, and Pamela J. Schreiner are with the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Kathryn H. Schmitz is with the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Donald R. Dengel is with the School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr David R. Jacobs Jr, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 South 2nd St, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454 (e-mail: jacobs{at}epi.umn.edu).
Objective. We sought to examine the relation between physical activity and incident hypertension in young adults over 15 years of follow-up in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Methods. A total of 3993 Black and White men and women aged 18 to 30 years were examined at baseline, and 2, 5, 7, 10, and 15 years later. Blood pressure and physical activity were measured at each exam. Hypertension was defined as systolic 140 mm Hg or higher, diastolic 90 mm Hg or higher, or antihypertensive medication use. Average physical activity and incident hypertension over 15 years of follow-up were analyzed. Results. There were 634 cases of incident hypertension over 15 years of follow-up. Those who were more versus less physically active experienced a reduced risk (hazard rate ratio = 0.83; 95% confidence interval = 0.73, 0.93) for incident hypertension, after adjustment for race, sex, age, education, and family history of high blood pressure. Conclusions. Physical activity merits attention in the prevention of incident hypertension among young adults, particularly as they move into middle age.
Approximately 65 million US adults have high blood pressure.1 Hypertension is a complex disorder with many genetic and environmental causes. A number of lifestyle factors, such as physical inactivity, contribute to increases in the incidence of hypertension.2–4 In addition to its direct relationship with hypertension, physical inactivity has an indirect association with the development of hypertension through its association with risk factors such as obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinemia.5–9 In middle-aged and older adults, it is well accepted that physical activity is associated with reduced risk for the development of hypertension.4,10–12 It has been observed that aerobic exercise training from 3 to 5 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes per session at moderate intensity lowered blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive adults, although the reduction was greater in the hypertensives.12 Among children and adolescents, no association between physical activity and blood pressure has been observed among normotensives, and small reductions in blood pressure have been noted among hypertensives.13,14 Therefore, the age at which physical activity begins to exert a preventive effect with regard to incident hypertension is not known. Few studies have investigated the association between physical activity and blood pressure in women, Blacks, and young adults.15,16 A study of young adults is particularly important because young adulthood is characterized by important changes in physical activity, weight, and other factors linked with hypertension. We hypothesized that young adults followed for 15 years in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study who were more physically active would be less likely to experience incident hypertension than would those who were less physically active.
Study Population The CARDIA study is an ongoing, multi-center, longitudinal investigation of the evolution of coronary heart disease risk factors during young adulthood. Participants were recruited at random from community areas of Birmingham, Ala; Chicago, Ill; and Minneapolis, Minn; and from the Kaiser-Permanente health plan in Oakland, Calif. In 1985 to 1986, 5115 participants were recruited and balanced by gender, race (Black, White), education (high-school graduate or less, greater than high school), and age (18–24 years old, 25–30 years old). Other eligibility criteria included permanent residence in the target area and freedom from both chronic disease and disability at baseline. Further details of the recruitment strategy and baseline characteristics have been described elsewhere.17–19 Six examinations of the cohort were made: baseline (1985–1986) and 2, 5, 7, 10, and 15 years later, with retention of 91%, 86%, 81%, 79%, and 74% of the cohort, respectively. The Coordinating Center and the CARDIA Quality Control Committee monitored quality of data collection. Analyses to estimate incidence of hypertension were based on 3993 men and women. The exclusions were 146 people who had hypertension at baseline, 789 people who had missing blood pressure data at more than 2 follow-up exams, and 333 people who were missing data for any other covariates. In addition, if a woman self-reported pregnancy at a specific examination, her blood pressure and physical activity data for that examination were not included (n = 21 excluded observations). In general, there were small differences between CARDIA participants included in these analyses and those excluded. Participants included in these analyses were less likely to be Black (50.0% vs 64.2% of excluded; P < .001), reported more years of education (mean of 14.6 years vs 13.9 years among excluded; P < .001), reported lower prevalence of smoking (28.8% vs 36.6% of excluded; P < .001), had lower body mass index (BMI; mean of 24.3 kg/m2 vs 25.1 kg/m2 among excluded; P < .002), and had lower blood pressure (systolic 109.7 mm Hg vs 113.2 mm Hg among excluded [P<.001]; diastolic 68.0 mm Hg vs 70.5 mm Hg among excluded [P<.001]). However, there was no significant difference in self-reported leisure-time physical activity (421 exercise units [see "Assessment of Physical Activity" section] vs 417 exercise units; P=.72).
Blood Pressure Measurements
Endpoint Definitions
Assessment of Physical Activity
"X" varied from 2 through 5. An intensity score was assigned to each activity.22 The exercise score was computed by multiplying the sum of months of infrequent activity plus 3 times the months of frequent activity by intensity of the activity, and summing over all activities; the score was expressed in "exercise units" (EU). The "unit" in statistical models was defined as 300 EU (approximately 1 standard deviation). For reference, 300 EU roughly approximates the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for the amount of exercise needed to support weight loss (5 sessions of 1260 kJ [300 kcal] of energy expenditure weekly).10 The test–retest reliability over 2 weeks of the CARDIA Physical Activity History Questionnaire and its agreement with a detailed, 4-week activity history was 0.77 to 0.84,22 which is comparable to that of other surveys.21,23
Other Covariates
Statistical Analyses We developed 3 sets of models. The first set estimated the hazard rate ratio adjusted for study center and age, race, and gender (model A). A second set of models included additional variables that were observed to be significant predictors or were known confounders in the relationship of physical activity and hypertension (model B); these included education and family history of high blood pressure. Finally, model C added variables that were hypothesized to be on the causal pathway—baseline waist circumference and baseline fasting insulin. Effect modification by race and gender was assessed using multiplicative interaction terms that had a significance level less than .10.
In general, demographic and other characteristics at baseline differed across race and gender groups (Table 1
Hazard rate ratios and 95% CIs for the prediction of incident hypertension from average physical activity are shown in Table 3
Hazard rate ratios and 95% CIs for the prediction of incident hypertension from change in physical activity are also shown in Table 3
There was little evidence for effect modification of the association of average physical activity and incident hypertension by race or gender. The race–gender-specific estimates in Table 3
After we adjusted for age, study center, education, and family history of hypertension, we observed a modest, statistically significant 17% reduction of risk of incident hypertension per 300-EU increment in average physical activity and an 11% reduction risk per 300-EU increase in physical activity among young adults in the CARDIA study. The association between average physical activity and incident hypertension was attenuated (15% reduction of risk) but remained marginally significant after adjustment for physiological variables that may mediate the association. This attenuation suggests that physical activity may be linked to incident hypertension in part through its influence on fasting insulin and waist circumference. The association between change in physical activity and incident hypertension was unchanged after confounders and mediators were added to the models. There was no significant race–gender interaction. The associations were consistent although not statistically significant across race–gender groups, with the exception of Black men. We also observed changes in physical activity over 15 years of follow-up. For each race–gender group, those who were below the median for physical activity at baseline had a slight increase, whereas those who were above the median at baseline had a decrease (data shown in a table available as a supplement to the online version of this article); these findings are congruent to those reported by Anderssen et al.25 Regular physical activity has been reported to lower blood pressure in adults with hypertension.3 A review article by Hagberg and Seals26 concluded that hypertensive adults who underwent aerobic exercise training as part of an intervention trial reduced their diastolic pressure from 97 mm Hg to 89 mm Hg and their systolic blood pressure from 154 mm Hg to 143 mm Hg. Similarly, a review by Fagard12 concluded that aerobic exercise training from 3 to 5 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes per session at moderate intensity lowered blood pressure by 3 mm Hg systolic and 2 mm Hg diastolic in normotensives and 7 mm Hg systolic and 6 mm Hg diastolic in hypertensives. Dengel et al. showed that exercise and weight loss can reduce blood pressure in hypertensive middle-aged men.9 These findings suggest that habitual exercise can reduce blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive middle-aged and older adults. Physical activity has consistently been shown to reduce the risk of incident hypertension in adults in observational studies.2,3,9,15,27–33 It has previously been shown that regular physical activity reduced the odds of hypertension in normotensive middle-aged White men2,28,29,32 and in older women.33 In a longitudinal study, Pereira et al. concluded that leisure-time physical activity reduced the odds of hypertension in middle-aged White men in the highest quartiles of physical activity.2 Reaven et al. observed lower rates of incident hypertension among predominantly White older women who reported more physical activity.33 In the Harvard Alumni Study, Paffenbarger et al. showed that men who habitually engaged in sports activity had a 19% to 29% lower risk for development of incident hypertension.32,34 Furthermore, several studies have shown a relationship between regular physical activity and lowered systolic or diastolic blood pressures. Folsom et al. showed a significant association with leisure-time physical activity and heart disease risk factors, including systolic blood pressure, among a representative sample of adult men and women in the Minnesota Heart Survey.29 The benefits of habitual physical activity include improved fitness. A recent report from the CARDIA study showed that those with better physical fitness as assessed by a treadmill test had lower risk of hypertension, in general agreement with our findings and the literature.35 Physical activity may assist in weight loss or a reduction in visceral fat,33 which could ultimately reduce blood pressure by mechanisms that reduce the risk of obesity. In this sense, waist circumference, a measure of adiposity,6 may be on the causal pathway that links physical activity to blood pressure. In our study, adjustment for waist circumference and fasting insulin moderately attenuated the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure. Increased physical activity tends to reduce adiposity6,8; the consistent observation that obesity is positively associated with blood pressure and the development of hypertension9,11,30,34,36–39 supports the validity of the current findings. In the Framingham Offspring Study, body fatness stood out as a modifiable contributor to hypertension.30 Other studies have found a significant increased risk of incident hypertension among those with a high waist circumference.15,37–39 It may be that a combination of body fatness and low activity level increases the risk of hypertension. Physical inactivity and obesity have been associated indirectly with the development of hypertension through their associations with risk factors such as insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.5–9 Insulin and insulin resistance have been shown to be associated with hypertension.5,15,40 A number of possible mechanisms have been proposed to explain this association.41 Excess insulin may play a role in the development of hypertension through the effects of insulin on the retention of sodium, expansion of blood volume, production of excess norepinephrine, and smooth muscle proliferation.41 These changes impact the primary determinants of blood pressure, including cardiac output, peripheral vascular resistance, and sympathetic nervous system activity.2,42 Further, these insulin-related physiological changes become more prevalent with age,43 thus suggesting that a combination of physical inactivity and age-associated physiological changes are integral to the development of hypertension.
Strengths and Limitations Quantification of the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure presented some measurement challenges. For example, it is possible that the results presented here were influenced by the limitations of self-reported physical activity measures in general or more specific limitations of the CARDIA Physical Activity History Questionnaire. Self-reported physical activity data are subject to recall bias. Furthermore, the CARDIA Physical Activity History Questionnaire focused almost exclusively on leisure-time physical activity (there was 1 question about heavy lifting at work). Possibly, the measurement of multiple domains of physical activity (e.g., household chores, transportation, self-care, occupation) would better explain the hypothesized association of physical activity with incident hypertension. Domains of physical activity other than leisure time may be important, as suggested by the finding that mortality was not reduced for higher physical activity in women if only leisure activity was considered but was reduced if nonleisure physical activities were also considered.44 Despite the weaknesses of self-reported physical activity data, the unique features of the CARDIA study offered many advantages. Specifically, the long follow-up period, the large cohort, the repeated examinations,41 the standardized questionnaire, and the population-based sample of relatively young Black and White men and women of the CARDIA study provided a unique opportunity to examine the combined impact of aging and physical inactivity on incident hypertension.
Conclusions
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study is supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grants N01-HC-48047, N01-HC-48048, N01-HC-48049, N01-HC-48050, and N01-HC-95095). E. D. Parker was supported in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute predoctoral training grant, "Behavioral Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease" (2T32 HL0328-25) during the writing of this article.
Human Participant Information
Peer Reviewed
Contributors Accepted for publication December 4, 2006.
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