Influence of childhood socioeconomic circumstances, height, and obesity on pulse pressure and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in older people

Abstract

This study assesses the association of childhood socioeconomic circumstances, height, and obesity with components of blood pressure. We selected 4009 people representative of the Spanish population aged 60 years and older, and estimated systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse pressure (PP) according to childhood social class, height, and obesity. No association was found between childhood social class and blood pressure. SBP showed an inverse gradient and DBP a direct gradient with height, although an independent association between height and DBP was found only in women. Stature was independently associated with increased DBP in women with central obesity, but there was no association between height and DBP in women without central obesity. Short stature was independently associated with increased PP. Body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio were independently associated with increased DBP in women, and waist-to-hip ratio was independently associated with increased PP in men, while waist circumference was independently associated with increased DBP and increased PP in women. These results do not support the assumed effect of socioeconomic circumstances in early life on blood pressure, which may depend on the context and/or study population. The relations observed between height and blood pressure support the hypothesis that PP could be a mediator of the association between short stature and increased cardiovascular risk. The relationship between obesity measures and components of blood pressure reinforces the recommendation to reduce body weight in order to reduce blood pressure.

Predictors of Development of Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in the Subjects Aged 40 to 59 Years (from the Oulu Project Elucidating Risk of Atherosclerosis Study)

“…Various hypotheses, such as vessel size, socioeconomic status and greater central pressure augmentation, have been suggested to explain these associations (20)(21)(22)(23)(24). A recent study in 558 patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular systolic function found that short stature, left atrial size and E/E' were independent predictors of stroke.…”

“…Several previous studies have observed a relationship between shorter height and the risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality (20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Various hypotheses, such as vessel size, socioeconomic status and greater central pressure augmentation, have been suggested to explain these associations (20)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”

Socioeconomic Status is Significantly Associated with Dietary Salt Intakes and Blood Pressure in Japanese Workers (J-HOPE Study)

“…Although some studies have shown the correlations between high blood pressure or high prevalence of hypertension and low SES in different population groups, such as Swiss [30], American [31], French [32], Israel [6], Chinese [33] or Thai [34], other epidemiologic studies with no association [35,36] or conflicting results [37,38] were also reported. Our observation provided new evidence supporting the negative association between SES and blood pressure or prevalence of hypertension by using our Japanese occupational cohort.…”

Prevalence of High Blood Pressure among Young Rural Adults in Relation to Height in Childhood and Adult Body Mass Index

“…Many studies have observed that adverse childhood socioeconomic circumstances and short stature increase the risk of coronary heart disease [14], while others [15] found obesity in adulthood to be a determining factor of adult blood pressure, independent of socioeconomic circumstances in childhood. This therefore suggests that adverse environmental conditions in early life responsible for childhood malnutrition that improves later on may be equally responsible for the cause of obesity in adulthood, which in turn may make adults more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases.…”