Blood Pressure In Healthy Women Research Articles

Quality Parameters and Health Impact of Clarified “Cerrado” Cashew Juice (Anacardium othonianum Rizz.)

Abstract Objectives Brazil is known for rich biological diversity and Anacardium othonianum Rizz., a Cerrado biome native species, is edible fruit and poorly reported in the literature. The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality parameters and health impact of clarified “Cerrado” cashew juice (Anacardium othonianum Rizz.), that was consumed during 30 days for healthy women. Methods Cashew juice was produced using clarification enzymatic process after maceration of A. othanianum pseudofruit. After this process the juice was pasteurized and its quality parameters (chemical characteristics, bioactive compounds, and active aroma composition) and the health impact (anthropometric and dietary assessment, biochemical tests including lipid profile and fasting blood glucose, and blood pressure measurement) were evaluated. The pilot study was realized with a daily intake of 400 mL of “Cerrado” cashew juice during 30 days for 9 health women. Results The juice showed low pH, high sugar and vitamin C contents. Esters (mainly methyl butanoate and isobutyl acetate) were found as important chemical class for the active aroma of “Cerrado” cashew juice. The consume of “Cerrado” cashew juice increased the recommended daily intake of manganese (56%), zinc (22%), iron (14%), and copper (13%) and improved the time to reach the maximum glucose value in the glycemic curve, the hematological indices (leukocytes, lymphocytes, and platelets), and the inflammatory marker (white blood cells), as well as reduced the cholesterol (triglycerides, total, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) levels and systolic blood pressure in healthy women. Conclusions Anacardium othonianum Rizz. pseudofruit, a species still virtually unknown and economically undervalued, it can be can be used for juice production and included in the diet and in addition to providing nutrients it can promote health benefits. Funding Sources Capes, CNPq and IF Goiano (Brazil).

The interaction effect of anxiety and mood on energy intake and blood pressure in healthy women university students

PurposeIn spite of the importance of food intake in weight management and preventing chronic diseases, it remains difficult to predict how anxious people change their eating behaviour in exposure to bad or good moods. The purpose of the study was to investigate the interaction effect of anxiety and different moods on food intake and blood pressure in healthy women students.Design/methodology/approachA total of 82 women university students (18-30 years) participated in the study. Subjects completed a valid anxiety questionnaire at baseline to measure trait and state anxiety scores, then they were randomly divided into two groups to watch comedy and drama movies for mood induction. After watching, some snacks were presented, and then energy intake and blood pressure were measured.FindingsStudents who suffered from severe state anxiety, consumed more energy from food when they watched a dramatic movie (p= 0.014). Subjects who suffered from moderate level of state anxiety and watched a dramatic movie experienced more systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with subjects who suffered from moderate state anxiety but watched the comedy (p= 0.043 andp= 0.041, for systolic and diastolic blood pressure respectively). More diastolic blood pressure was shown among students who watched the drama movie and suffered from a severe level of trait anxiety (p = 0.049).Research limitations/implicationsElectrocardiography and stroke volume measurement were not used.Originality/valueOur findings showed blood pressure elevation in anxious people when they experienced bad feeling such as sadness, and they also consumed more energy from food. Both of these factors are related to the occurrence of chronic disorders such as cardiovascular diseases.

Transforming growth factor beta 1 related gene polymorphisms in gestational hypertension and preeclampsia: A case-control candidate gene association study.

To investigate the association between transforming growth factor beta 1 related gene polymorphisms and the occurrence of pregnancy induced hypertension, including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. This is a case control candidate gene association study. A total of 130 patients with preeclampsia, 67 with gestational hypertension, and 316 controls were recruited. Eleven candidate SNPs of were examined, including four TGFβ1 SNPs (rs1800469, rs4803455, rs4803457, and rs8179181), one TGFβR1 SNP (rs10739778), four TGFβR2 SNPs (rs1346907, rs3087465, rs6550005, and rs877572), and two ENG SNPs (rs10121110 and rs11792480). Logistic regression was used to estimate the OR and the 95% CI under different genetic models. Chi-square test was used to determine whether haplotype frequency distributions differed between the case and control groups and logistic regression was used to estimate ORs. To explore the associations between SNPs and blood pressure, SBP/DBP in different genotype groups in healthy women were compared by Wilcoxon rank sum test. We did not find significant association between investigated SNPs and pregnancy induced hypertension. The C-T-A-G haplotype of four TGFβR2 SNPs (rs877572, rs1346907, rs3087465, and rs6550005) was significantly associated with preeclampsia (OR = 4.71, 95%CI: 1.944, 11.409) and gestational hypertension (OR = 3.157, 95%CI: 1.003, 9.938). The AA genotype of TGFβR1 rs10739778 was found to be associated with higher blood pressure in healthy women (p ≤ .008). Polymorphisms in TGFβR2 might participate in the pathologic process of pregnancy induced hypertension, and TGFβR1 rs10739778 was associated with blood pressure in our healthy participants.

High-nitrate vegetable diet increases plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and reduces blood pressure in healthy women.

Epidemiological studies suggest that green leafy vegetables, which are high in dietary nitrate, are protective against CVD such as stroke. High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for stroke and inorganic nitrate has been shown to reduce BP. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that diets containing high-nitrate (HN) vegetables would increase plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and reduce BP in healthy women. A randomized, crossover trial, where participants received HN vegetables (HN diet) or avoided HN vegetables (Control diet) for 1 week. Before and after each intervention, resting BP and plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations were measured. University of Exeter, UK. Nineteen healthy women (mean age 20 (sd 2) years; mean BMI 22·5 (sd 3·8) kg/m2). The HN diet significantly increased plasma nitrate concentration (before HN diet: mean 24·4 (sd 5·6) µmol/l; after HN diet: mean 61·0 (sd 44·1) µmol/l, P<0·05) and plasma nitrite concentration (before HN diet: mean 98 (sd 91) nmol/l; after HN diet: mean 185 (sd 34) nmol/l, P<0·05). No significant change in plasma nitrate or nitrite concentration was observed after the Control diet. The HN diet significantly reduced resting systolic BP (before HN diet: mean 107 (sd 9) mmHg; after HN diet: mean 103 (sd 6) mmHg, P<0·05). No significant change in systolic BP was observed after the Control diet (before Control diet: mean 106 (sd 8) mmHg; after Control diet: mean 106 (sd 8) mmHg). Consumption of HN vegetables significantly increased plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and reduced BP in normotensive women.

Microneurographic research in women

This article reviews microneurographic research on sympathetic neural control in women under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions across the lifespan. Specifically, the effects of sex, age, race, the menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, estrogen replacement therapy, and normal pregnancy on neural control of blood pressure in healthy women are reviewed. In addition, sympathetic neural activity during neurally mediated (pre)syncope, the Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), obesity, the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia, chronic essential hypertension, heart failure, and myocardial infarction in women are also reviewed briefly. It is suggested that microneurographic studies provide valuable information regarding autonomic circulatory control in women of different ages and in most cases, excessive sympathetic activation is associated with specific medical conditions regardless of age and sex. In some situations, sympathetic inhibition or withdrawal may be the underlying mechanism. Information gained from previous and recent microneurographic studies has significant clinical implications in women's health, and in some cases could be used to guide therapy if more widely available.

Are the conventional cutoff values adequate to define hypertension in young women?

Women have lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels than men during early adulthood. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) tends to be just marginally lower in women than men regardless of age. Aims of this study were (i) to determine 95th percentile value of SBP, DBP, and mean arterial blood pressure in healthy women, and (ii) to evaluate the effects of basal demographic and anthropometric features on blood pressure. Six hundred and fifty-four consecutive participants (18-35 years old) were initially enrolled in the study but among them 54 (8.2%) cases were excluded. Demographic features, relevant personal and family history data about hypertension, smoking habits, and use of medications were interviewed using a questionnaire. Blood pressure, height, weight, and waist circumference of every case were measured. Of the 600 patients (mean age, 24.6±4.0 years), 124 (20.7%) were currently smokers, 20 (3.3%) had history of hypertension during pregnancy, and 291 (48.5%) had family history of hypertension in women (mean age, 61.0±9.51 years). Reference ranges of 5th and 95th percentile values for SBP were determined as 74 and 115 mmHg, for mean arterial blood pressure as 57 and 85 mmHg, for DBP as 45 and 72 mmHg, respectively. In conclusion, cutoff values of hypertension in healthy women, which were determined by our study, are lower than the standard cutoff values for definition of hypertension in adults. However, clinical importance of these findings should be investigated in further studies involving larger population with prospective follow-up.

Drinking water arsenic exposure and blood pressure in healthy women of reproductive age in Inner Mongolia, China

The extremely high exposure levels evaluated in prior investigations relating elevated levels of drinking water arsenic and hypertension prevalence make extrapolation to potential vascular effects at lower exposure levels very difficult. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8790 women who had recently been pregnant in an area of Inner Mongolia, China known to have a gradient of drinking water arsenic exposure. This study observed increased systolic blood pressure levels with increasing drinking water arsenic, at lower exposure levels than previously reported in the literature. As compared to the referent category (below limit of detection to 20 μg of As/L), the overall population mean systolic blood pressure rose 1.29 mm Hg (95% CI 0.82, 1.75), 1.28 mm Hg (95% CI 0.49, 2.07), and 2.22 mm Hg (95% CI 1.46, 2.97) as drinking water arsenic concentration increased from 21 to 50, 51 to 100, and > 100 μg of As/L, respectively. Controlling for age and body weight ( n = 3260), the population mean systolic blood pressure rose 1.88 mm Hg (95% CI 1.03, 2.73), 3.90 mm Hg (95% CI 2.52, 5.29), and 6.83 mm Hg (95% CI 5.39, 8.27) as drinking water arsenic concentration increased, respectively. For diastolic blood pressure effect, while statistically significant, was not as pronounced as systolic blood pressure. Mean diastolic blood pressure rose 0.78 mm Hg (95% CI 0.39, 1.16), 1.57 mm Hg (95% CI 0.91, 2.22) and 1.32 mm Hg (95% CI 0.70, 1.95), respectively, for the overall population and rose 2.11 mm Hg (95% CI 1.38, 2.84), 2.74 mm Hg (95% CI 1.55, 3.93), and 3.08 mm Hg (95% CI 1.84, 4.31), respectively, for the adjusted population ( n = 3260) at drinking water arsenic concentrations of 21 to 50, 51 to 100, and > 100 μg of As/L. If our study results are confirmed in other populations, the potential burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to drinking water arsenic is significant.

Role of dietary oleic acid from two different sources on fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membrane and blood pressure in healthy subjects

This study has been undertaken to determine the effect of a diet enriched with olive oil (OO) and high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) on fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membrane phospholipids and blood pressure in healthy women. OO and HOSO were used as natural sources of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in a random-order sequence over two 4-week periods with a 4-week washout period between both MUFA diets. HOSO diet resulted in significant increases in oleic [(18:1n-9) 8.6%, P < 0.001], eicosenoic [(20:1n-9) 33.3%, P < 0.05], arachidonic [(20:4n-6) 6.2%, P < 0.05], and docosapentaenoic [(22:5n-6) 56.0%, P < 0.001] acids, whereas OO diet besides increased the content of stearic acid [(18:0) 13.6%, P < 0.01] and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the n-3 family (22:5n-3 and 22:6n-3), when compared with the baseline [a diet high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and low in MUFAs]. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in linoleic acid [(18:2n-6) 21.8%, P < 0.001] for both MUFA diets. Consistent with these data, dietary intake of OO significantly raised total PUFAs (7.2%, P < 0.05), the n-3 fatty acids (22.2%, P < 0.01) and the PUFAs SFAs ratio (9.3%, P < 0.01), as well as decreased the ratio of cholesterol to phospholipids (26,1%, P < 0.001) versus HOSO-based diet. Interestingly, dietary OO, but not HOSO, was able to significantly reduce the systolic (3%, P < 0.05) and diastolic (4%, P < 0.05) blood pressures. Although both vegetable oils provided a similar content of MUFAs (mainly oleic acid), our findings rather indicate that OO has important benefits to modulate the fatty acid composition of membranes and the mechanisms involved in the regulation of blood pressure in human.