Abstract P186: Gender Dependent Association Between Asthma and Hypertension in Nationally Representative Young Korean Adults

Abstract

Background: It has been reported that those with asthma have increased risk of hypertension due to spastic nature of their smooth muscle as well as high cardiac burden of delivering the oxygenated air to the whole body. The prevalence of hypertension tended to increase concurrently with the prevalence of asthma. However, little is known about the relationship between asthma and hypertension in young adults. Method: Among subjects who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2008-2013, a total of 10,138 young adults (4,226 men and 5,912 women), aged 19[[Unable to Display Character: –]]39 years were analyzed. Asthma was defined by self-report of ever receiving a diagnosis. Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mm Hg, a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mm Hg, or a self-reported current use of antihypertensive medications. Results: The prevalence of asthma was 10.7%(451/4226) in males and 7.8%(459/5912) in females. The prevalence of hypertension was 7.7%(325/4226) in males and 16.6%(981/5912) in females. Mean SBP and DBP were lower in males with asthma than males without asthma (114.4±0.6 vs. 115.5±0.2 (P=0.087), 76.6±0.5 vs. 77.6±0.2 (P=0.033) mmHg, respectively), whereas mean SBP and DBP were higher in females with asthma than females without asthma (106.2±0.7 vs. 104.9±0.2 (P=0.080), 70.9±0.6 vs. 69.6±0.2 (P=0.041) mmHg, respectively). In multiple logistic regression analyses, females with asthma were more likely to have hypertension compared to females without asthma [odds ratio (OR): 2.46, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.40-4.35], on the other hands, males with asthma were less likely to have hypertension [OR: 0.54, CI: 0.35-0.81] compared to males without asthma, after adjusting for age, smoking, drinking alcohol, exercise, income status, vitamin D concentration, metabolic risk factors, and co-existing allergic conditions, respectively. Conclusion: Asthma was positively associated with hypertension in female; inversely associated with hypertension in male. This result implies that asthma pathophysiology might be differentially associated with hypertension by gender in young adults. Furthermore, gender specific management of hypertension may be required in young asthmatic patients. Our findings need to be confirmed in prospective cohort and experimental studies to provide further explanation. Key words: Asthma ;hypertension; Prevalence;Blood pressure; KNHANES