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Healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of developing hypertension by 2/3
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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A healthy lifestyle (moderate alcohol consumption, physical activity, including vegetables in the diet, normal weight) reduces the risk of hypertension, i.e. high blood pressure, by two thirds. This is the conclusion reached by Professor Pekka Jousilahti from the National Institute for Health and Welfare as a result of his research. The results of the study were presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
According to the World Health Organization, hypertension is the most common cause of death in the world. Every year, 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 aim of Professor Jousilahti's research was to study the five main cardiovascular diseases and their connection with a person's lifestyle - smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, obesity and vegetable consumption. The strategic objective of the research was to find ways to predict the development of hypertension and the need for its drug treatment, as well as to prevent this process.
The study was conducted over 20 years (1982–2002). It involved 9,637 Finnish men and 11,430 women aged 25–74 who did not have hypertension at the start of the study. A healthy lifestyle was defined as not smoking, consuming no more than 50 g of alcohol per week, being physically active in their free time at least three times a week, eating vegetables daily, and having a 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 Social Insurance Institution of Finland, which provided special compensation to individuals taking antihypertensive drugs.
Over 16 years, 709 men and 890 women in the study developed hypertension.
Smoking was excluded from the determining factors when summing up the results. "Although smoking is one of the main risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, no link was found with the development of hypertension in our study, which was in line with the research of our predecessors," explained Professor Jousilahti.
The remaining four factors were taken into account when analyzing the data obtained. The study participants were divided into risk groups based on the number of harmful factors that affected them (0,1,2,3 or 4) and adjusted for age, year of inclusion in the study, education and smoking.
After calculating 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 in those who do not adhere to any of the healthy lifestyle factors selected by the researchers.
"Even one, two or three healthy lifestyle factors significantly reduce the risk of developing hypertension," emphasizes Professor Jousilahti. "For example, observing two healthy lifestyle factors reduced the risk of developing hypertension by almost 50% in men and by more than 30% in women."
"Our analysis shows that maintaining a healthy lifestyle may have a greater beneficial effect on men than on women," adds the project leader.
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