Walking to work and the risk for hypertension in men: The Osaka Health Survey

Background: It is not known whether physical activity is effective in reduc ing the risk for hypertension. Objective: To investigate the association of the duration of the walk to wo rk and leisure-time physical activity with the risk for hypertension. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Work site in Osaka, Japan. Participants: 6017 Japanese men 35 to 60 years of age with systolic blood p ressure less than 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, n ormal glucose intolerance, and no history of hypertension or diabetes at ba seline. Measurements: Data on physical activity were obtained by using questionnair es. Blood pressure was measured by using a standard technique; a value of a t least 160/95 mm Hg was used to diagnose hypertension. Results: During 59 784 person-years of follow-up, 626 cases of hypertension were confirmed. The duration of the walk to work was associated with a red uction in the risk for incident hypertension; multivariate-adjusted relativ e risks were 1.00 for a walk of 10 minutes or less (reference category), 0. 88 (95% CI, 0.75 to 1.04) for an 11- to 20-minute walk, and 0.71 (CI, 0.52 to 0.97) for a walk of 21 minutes or more (P for trend = 0.02). For every 2 6.3 men who walk more than 20 minutes to work, one case of hypertension wil l be prevented. Conclusions: Walking to work and other types of physical activity decreased the risk for hypertension in Japanese men. Regular exercise can prevent hy pertension.