Metabolic syndrome (MS) may influence vascular reactivity and might cause an excessive increase in blood pressure (BP) during dynamic exercise. We examined this hypothesis in 698 normotensive men (mean age: 43 years) free of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and renal disease. The response of BP to exercise was assessed by the mean arterial pressure (MAP) during bicycle ergometry. The MAP values were expressed as z-scores normalized to the relative increases in heart rate. High-normal BP, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia were diagnosed according to the Japan-specific MS criteria. The z-score of MAP was significantly higher in subjects with high-normal BP (+0.57, P<0.001), dyslipidemia (+0.18, P<0.001) and hyperglycemia (+0.24, P<0.001) than in those without MS component (-0.38). In the high-normal BP subjects, the addition of dyslipidemia and/or hyperglycemia was associated with a progressive increase in the z-score of exercise MAP, whereas no such association was observed in the normal-BP subjects (P=0.033, two-way ANOVA). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that a greater number of MS components (β=0.102, P=0.010) was an independent determinant of increased MAP z-score after adjustment for potential confounders, including age (β=0.123, P<0.001), body mass index (β=0.145, P<0.001) and high-normal BP (β=0.410, P<0.001). These results suggest that accumulation of MS components may alter vascular structure and function and lead to the significant elevation of MAP during dynamic exercise even before clinical manifestation of arterial hypertension.
This study examined the association between job-related behavioral characteristics and the risk of coronary heart diseases (CHD) in Japanese male police officers. Compared to office clerks, police officers exhibited greater age-related increases of the prevalence of CHD risk factors, and a clustering number of CHD risk factors was significantly higher in the group of those over 45 yr of age. Among the police officers, coronary-prone behavior was more frequent than that seen in office clerks. The police officers with coronary-prone behavior tended to engage in shift work and to work overtime more; yet they were less likely to perceive job stress and to express the relevant physical and psychological symptoms than those without coronary-prone behavior. The subjects with such behavioral characteristics had a significantly greater number of CHD risk factors. In a multiple regression analysis, coronary-prone behavior together with age, social support, walking hours per day, and amount of alcohol consumption were selected as significant determinants of a cluster of CHD risk factors. These results suggest that coronary-prone behavior may contribute to the higher prevalence of CHD risk factors in police officers via leading the long working hours and the work-related unfavorable lifestyles, such as alcohol drinking and physical inactivity.
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the morphologic classification of nailfold capillary microscopy and the clinical and demographic findings in workers exposed to hand-arm vibration. The subjects were 44 male forestry workers (average age; 51.9 ± 14.8 yr). The nailfold capillaries (NC) and the mean blood flow velocity were measured on the middle finger of the dominant side by a peripheral capillary observer. The analyses were made using 39 subjects after excluding five subjects who received medication for hypertension. The observed NC were classified into 5 types according to Kusumoto's classification: Type I, n=5; Type II, n=15; Type III, n=8; Type IV, n=5; and Type V, n=6. After excluding the subjects in the Type V, we divided the subjects into two groups: Type I/II group, n=20; and Type III/IV group, n=13. In the Type III/IV group, the operating year of handheld vibrating tools was relatively longer, the mean blood flow velocity was significantly slower, and the body mass index was relatively higher as compared to the Type I/II group. These results suggested that the nailfold capillary microscopy may reflect the effect of the vibration exposure.
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