Influences of body mass index and physical activity on hypertension and stroke in Korean adult males: 10-year longitudinal study.

Yonghwan Kim,Haemi Jee

doi:10.20463/jenb.2017.0003

Abstract

[Purpose]Routinely performed health screening results of 5,624,503 Korean men between ages 20 to 70 obtained from the National Health Insurance Service (2002-2013) were assessed for this study. Data of subjects who met the initial criteria were divided into three groups based on their BMI: normal weight (18.5 to <25.0 kg/m2), overweight (25.0 to <30.0 kg/m2), and obese (≥30.0 kg/m2) groups. The results were further sub-divided by physical activity frequencies (days/week). The disease codes for hypertension and stroke were provided by the National Health Insurance Service for the adjusted relative risks (RR) assessment with the Cox proportional hazard model.[Methods]Routinely performed health screening results of 5,624,503 Korean men between ages 20 to 70 obtained from the National Health Insurance Service (2002-2013) were assessed for this study. Data of subjects who met the initial criteria were divided into three groups based on their BMI: normal weight (18.5 to <25.0 kg/m2), overweight (25.0 to <30.0 kg/m2), and obese (≥30.0 kg/ m2) groups. The results were further sub-divided by physical activity frequencies (days/ week). The disease codes for hypertension and stroke were provided by the National Health Insurance Service for the adjusted relative risks (RR) assessment with the Cox proportional hazard model. [Results]Significant RRs of hypertension and stroke were shown in the overweight moderately active group (3 – 4 days/week). In addition, significant RR of hypertension was shown in the normal weight moderately active group. No significance was seen in the obese group in all physical activity frequencies. [Conclusion]Regularly performed moderate amount of physical activity may be beneficial in reducing the risk for hypertension and stroke. However, the effects of excessive body weight may override the positive effects of physical activity on the occurrence of hypertension and stroke.

Highlights

Hypertension and stroke have been some of the major causes of mortality, promoting prominent social, economic, personal, and emotional burdens in Korea[1,2]
Total cholesterol (TG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels significantly increased with increase in body mass index (BMI)
Relative risk of stroke based on BMI and physical activity after adjustment for age, smoking, and alcohol consumption showed significant RR in the moderately active group in comparison to the inactive group 0.96 in the normal weight group

Summary

Introduction

Hypertension and stroke have been some of the major causes of mortality, promoting prominent social, economic, personal, and emotional burdens in Korea[1,2] Prominent causes of these adult diseases have been related to factors such as sex, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, high caloric diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking[3,4]. Obesity and physical inactivity have been reported as strong determining factors for promoting occurrence of hypertension and stroke[5]. These rapidly rising diseases may be largely prevented through proper lifestyle management that includes proper nutrition, body weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity[6]. A study that analyzed factors for physical activity adherence reported that intensive public awareness efforts may promote adherence to the regular performance of physical activity[9]

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Conclusion