Dg. Blazer et al., Blood pressure and mortality risk in older people: Comparison between African Americans and whites, J AM GER SO, 49(4), 2001, pp. 375-381
Citations number
20
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","General & Internal Medicine
OBJECTIVES: To determine the risk from hypertension for all-cause mortality
in a racially mixed sample of community-dwelling older adults.
DESIGN: Baseline blood pressure was assessed between 1985 and 1986 in a sam
ple of persons 65 years of age and older from five counties of the Piedmont
of North Carolina (N = 4,162). All-cause mortality was monitored annually
over the subsequent 6 years as part of the Established Populations for Epid
emiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) sponsored by the National Institut
e on Aging.
SETTING: Eighteen percent of all respondents in the sample had a systolic b
lood pressure of >160 (17% for whites and 18% for African Americans) and 16
% had a diastolic blood pressure of >90 (14% for whites and 20% for African
Americans). During the 6 years of follow-up, 29% of the sample died (with
no difference in mortality rates between whites and African Americans).
PARTICIPANTS: 4,000 community-dwelling people age 65 years and older; 1,846
were white and 2,154 were African American.
MEASUREMENTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and all-cause mortality
.
RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure positively related to mortality during the
6 years of follow-up (relative risk = 1.05). Among whites the relationship
of diastolic pressure to mortality was nonlinear, with those at the upper
and lower ends of the distribution at increased risk. Among African America
ns, diastolic pressure was unrelated to mortality. The analyses were contro
lled for age; gender; education; body mass index (BMI); smoking history; ta
king a medication to manage blood pressure; a history of cancer, diabetes m
ellitus, heart attack, or stroke; poor subjective health; impaired function
al status; and cognitive impairment.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirm that among older adults there is a signif
icant relationship overall between systolic blood pressure and mortality ov
er 6 years of follow-up in both whites and African Americans. Diastolic pre
ssure was a risk factor for whites only.