沖縄県における血圧の季節変動

Abstract

To study seasonal variations in blood pressure in Okinawa, a Japanese subtropical island, we examined 100 hypertensive and another 100 normotensive subjects for one year and obtained the mean blood pressure for each month. Major findings were as follows: 1) Blood pressure was lower in summer than in winter for each group of hypertensive, diabetic, normotensive, older and younger subjects. 2) Blood pressure in hypertensive diabetic subjects and hypertensive older subjects rapidly rose in autumn. 3) Blood pressure in normotensive younger subjects declined mostly in summer. 4) Although seasonal variations and trends in the blood pressure of Okinawan subjects were similar to those of Japanese mainland subjects, the Okinawans showed a consistently lower blood pressure than that of the mainlanders by about 10 mmHg for both systolic and diastolic values.