INVERSE RELATION OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AND APOLIPOPROTEIN AI TO BLOOD-PRESSURE IN ELDERLY WOMEN

To study the relation of habitual physical activity, diet, and serum l ipoproteins to blood pressure, a cross-sectional study was carried out in a cohort of 202 women, age 60-69 yr. Sitting, supine, and standing blood pressure was measured with a standard sphygmomanometer. Physica l activity was assessed by questionnaire, diet by food records, serum lipoprotein cholesterol enzymatically, and apolipoprotein AI turbidime trically. Among the women not taking antihypertensive medication (N = 127), the physically most active (physical activity 5 times per week o r more) had sitting diastolic blood pressure of 86 mm Hg (adjusted for high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and cardiovasc ular health status), which was 8 mm Hg lower (P = 0.007) than in the l east active (physical activity twice per week or less) women. Subjects in the highest tertile of apolipoprotein Al (>1.46 g.l(-1)) had a mea n sitting systolic blood pressure of 147 mm Hg (adjusted for age, body mass index, and cardiovascular health status), which was 16 and 13 mm Hg lower (P 0.001) than in women in the middle and lowest tertiles (< 1.32 g.l(-1)), respectively. The present data suggest that, in elderly women, regular physical activity is associated with a clinically sign ificant lowering of diastolic blood pressure. Moreover, a higher level of serum apolipoprotein Al, the major protein component of high-densi ty lipoprotein particles, is inversely associated with systolic blood pressure.