Association of Weight Loss from Early to Middle Adulthood and Incident Hypertension Risk Later in Life.

Yunping Zhou,Tao Wang,Wei Jie Seow,Yun Sun,Xin Yin

doi:10.3390/nu12092622

Abstract

Background: The effect of obesity in early adulthood and weight loss on incident hypertension in older age has not been well characterized. This study aimed to examine the association of weight loss from young adulthood to midlife with risk of incident hypertension later in life. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Five weight change groups were categorized: stable normal, weight loss, weight gain, maximum overweight and stable obese. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the association between weight change and risk of hypertension in later life were estimated using Cox regression models. Results: Compared with participants who maintained normal weight, the stable obese, weight gain, maximum overweight and weight loss groups exhibited significantly higher risks of incident hypertension, with HR of 3.28 (95% CI = 2.71 to 3.96), 2.93 (95% CI = 2.62 to 3.28), 1.76 (95% CI = 1.55 to 2.00) and 1.97 (95% CI = 1.17 to 3.31), respectively. We also observed a lower risk among those in the weight loss group (HR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.35 to 1.02) compared with those who were stable obese. Conclusions: Weight loss from early to middle adulthood was associated with lower risk of incident hypertension as compared to those who stayed obese and higher risk of incident hypertension as compared to those who maintained normal weight. Thus, maintaining normal weight throughout adulthood may be important for the primary prevention of hypertension.

Highlights

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and contributes substantially to the increasing trend in morbidity and premature death [1,2]
We aimed to evaluate whether obese participants who lost weight were (1) at a lower risk of hypertension when compared to participants who were stable obese, and (2) at a higher risk of hypertension when compared to participants who remained stable normal
Another recent study [21] by Hou et al assessed the association between weight change from childhood to early adulthood and adult hypertension risk in the Chinese population, and showed that weight gain was associated with increased incident risk of hypertension with a hazard ratios (HRs) of 3.75 for normal weight in childhood but overweight/obese in early adulthood

Summary

Introduction

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and contributes substantially to the increasing trend in morbidity and premature death [1,2]. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in US assessed the relationship between weight change from adolescence to young adulthood and risk of hypertension, and reported an increased risk of hypertension for those who gained weight from adolescence to young adulthood [7]. Results: Compared with participants who maintained normal weight, the stable obese, weight gain, maximum overweight and weight loss groups exhibited significantly higher risks of incident hypertension, with HR of 3.28 (95% CI = 2.71 to 3.96), 2.93 (95% CI = 2.62 to 3.28), 1.76 (95% CI = 1.55 to 2.00) and 1.97 (95% CI = 1.17 to 3.31), respectively. Conclusions: Weight loss from early to middle adulthood was associated with lower risk of incident hypertension as compared to those who stayed obese and higher risk of incident hypertension as compared to those who maintained normal weight. Maintaining normal weight throughout adulthood may be important for the primary prevention of hypertension

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