A healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of developing hypertension by 2/3
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A healthy lifestyle (moderate consumption of alcohol, physical activity, inclusion of vegetables in the diet, normal weight) reduces the risk of hypertension, that is, high blood pressure, by two thirds. To this conclusion came as a result of research Professor Pekka Yousilahti from the National Institute of Health and Welfare. The results of the study were presented at the congress of the European Community of Cardiology.
According to the World Health Organization, hypertension (hypertension) is the most common cause of death in the world. Annually, it leads to the death of 7 million people (about 15% of all deaths in the world). Therefore, preventing the development of hypertension is an extremely important medical task in order to reduce morbidity and mortality in both developing and developed countries.
The goal of the research of Professor Yousilahti was to study five major cardiovascular diseases and their relationship to the lifestyle of a person - smoking, drinking alcohol, physical activity, obesity and consumption of vegetables. The strategic objective of the study was to search for opportunities to predict the development of hypertension and the need for its drug treatment, as well as to prevent this process.
The study was conducted for 20 years (from 1982 to 2002). It was attended by 9,637 Finnish men and 11 430 women aged 25 to 74 who did not suffer from hypertension at the beginning of the study. A healthy lifestyle was determined by the following indicators: smoking cessation, consumption of no more than 50 grams of alcohol per week, physical activity in your free time at least three times a week, daily consumption of vegetables, normal weight (body mass index less than 25).
Data on the development of hypertension during the reporting period were recorded using information provided by the Finnish Social Security Institute, which provided special compensation for people taking antihypertensive drugs.
For 16 years, 709 men and 890 women who participated in the study developed hypertension.
When summarizing the results, smoking was excluded from the determining factors. "Although smoking is one of the main risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease, the association with the development of hypertension in our study was not found, which was consistent with the research of our predecessors," explained Professor Yousilahti.
The other four factors were taken into account when analyzing the data. Participants in the study were divided into risk groups, taking into account the number of harmful factors (0,1,2,3 or 4) influencing them and adjusted for age, year of inclusion in the study, education and smoking.
After counting and analyzing the results, it turned out that the risk of developing hypertension in those who lead a completely healthy lifestyle is 2/3 lower than those who do not observe any of the factors chosen by researchers for a healthy lifestyle.
"Even one, two or three factors of a healthy lifestyle significantly reduce the risk of developing hypertension," says Professor Yousilahti. "For example, compliance with two healthy lifestyle factors reduced the risk of developing hypertension by almost 50% in men and more than 30% in women."
"Our analysis shows that adherence to a healthy lifestyle can have a greater beneficial effect on men than on women," adds the project manager.
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