Abstract 10023: Association of Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure with Age in Rural Indians

Abstract

Introduction: It is known from various studies that rising blood pressure is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The increase in blood pressure with age is mostly associated with structural changes in the arteries. Studies from today’s industrialized world have shown change towards an increase in Blood Pressure (BP), possibly due to change in diet, reduction in exercise and increase in stress. Daily salt intake in Indians is very high compared to western population. A high salt diet may induce changes in the vascular smooth muscle cells resulting in collagen accumulation in the large artery walls and consequent increased arterial stiffness. Hypothesis: The main objective was to determine the association of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age in rural Indians. Methods: 310 patients from age 30 to 85 years who visited our hospital in rural India from January 01,2021 to February 28,2021 were included in this study. Data were collected directly by measuring the systolic and diastolic blood pressure manually in comfortable sitting position. One way ANOVA, post hoc Tukey test and Pearson’s correlation test were used to analyze the data. Results: Statistical analysis showed that there was statistically significant positive correlation between age and systolic blood pressure ( p = 0.045 , r = 0.114). This study showed negative correlation between age and diastolic blood pressure ( p =0.124, r = - 0.087) but it was not statistically significant. This study shows that as age increases systolic BP increases. Conclusions: This study shows elevation of systolic blood pressure with increasing age in rural Indians. Data obtained during the Framingham Heart Study, which followed patients for 30 years, showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP) shows a continuous increase between the ages of 30 and 84 years or over. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), however, has a varying pattern with ageing, increasing until the fifth decade and slowly decreasing from the age of 60 to at least 84 years of age. In the elderly, the most powerful predictor of risk is increased pulse pressure due to decreased diastolic and increased systolic blood pressure. To reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, adequate efforts are necessary to screen our population regularly for hypertension.