Skip to main content
Log in

Relationships of body mass index with blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations at different ages

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and aims: Only limited information has been available on the effects of age on the relationship between obesity and other atherosclerotic risk factors, such as blood pressure and serum lipids. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of age on the relationships of obesity with blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was performed on 157,902 workers in Yamagata, Japan. Blood pressure and serum total and HDL cholesterol concentrations were measured, and body mass index (BMI) and atherogenic index were calculated. The correlations of BMI with blood pressure, serum cholesterol concentrations and atherogenic index in different age groups were compared. Results: BMI showed significant positive correlations with systolic and diastolic blood pressures, serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index, and showed a significant negative correlation with serum HDL cholesterol level. The relationships of BMI with systolic and diastolic blood pressures became weaker with advancing age in both men and women after 30 and 40 years of age, respectively. The relationships of BMI with serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index also became weaker with advancing age after 30 years of age in men and after 40 years of age in women. There was no age-dependent tendency in the relationship between BMI and HDL cholesterol, however. The above age-dependent changes were more prominent in men than in women. Conclusion: The relationships of obesity with blood pressure, serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index in the elderly are much weaker than in the young.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hall JE, Crook ED, Jones DW, Wofford MR, Dubbert PM. Mechanisms of obesity-associated cardiovascular and renal disease. Am J Med Sci 2002; 324: 127–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Whelton PK. Epidemiology of hypertension. Lancet 1994; 344: 101–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burt VL, Whelton P, Roccella EJ, et al. Prevalence of hypertension in the US adult population. Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 1988–1991. Hypertension 1995; 25: 305–13.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tate RB, Manfreda J, Cuddy TE. The effect of age on risk factors for ischemic heart disease: the Manitoba Follow-Up Study. 1948–1993. Ann Epidemiol 1998; 8: 415–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Abbott RD, Curb JD, Rodriguez BL, et al. Age-related changes in risk factor effects on the incidence of coronary heart disease. Ann Epidemiol 2002; 12: 173–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Havlik RJ. Hubert HB. Fabsitz RR. Feinleib M. Weight and hypertension. Ann Intern Med 1983; 98: 855–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Dyer AR, Elliott P, Shipley M. Body mass index versus height and weight in relation to blood pressure. Findings for the 10.079 persons in the INTERSALT Study. Am J Epidemiol 1990; 131: 589–96.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. He J, Klag MJ, Whelton PK, Chen JY, Qian MC, He GQ. Body mass and blood pressure in a lean population in southwestern China. Am J Epidemiol 1994; 139: 380–9.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Chen Y, Rennie DC, Reeder BA. Age-related association between body mass index and blood pressure: the Humboldt Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995; 19: 825–31.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Daniels SR, Heiss G, Davis CE, Harnes CG, Tyroler HA. Race and sex differences in the correlates of blood pressure change. Hypertension 1988; 11: 249–55.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Després JP, Allard C, Tremblay A, Talbot J, Bouchard C. Evidence for a regional component of body fatness in the association with serum lipids in men and women. Metabolism 1985; 34: 967–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Freedman DS, Jacobsen SJ, Barboriak JJ, et al. Body fat distribution and male/female differences in lipids and lipoproteins. Circulation 1990; 81: 1498–506.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Heitmann BL. The effects of gender and age on associations between blood lipid levels and obesity in Danish men and women aged 35–65 years. J Clin Epidemiol 1992; 45: 693–702.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Prentice AM. Jebb SA. Beyond body mass index. Obes Rev 2001; 2: 141–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Matsumura K, Ansai T, Awano S, et al. Association of body mass index with blood pressure in 80-year-old subjects. J Hypertens 2001; 19: 2165–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Iwao N, Iwao S, Muller DC, Elahi D, Shimokata H, Andres R. A test of recently proposed BMI standards with respect to old age. Aging Clin Exp Res 2000; 12: 461–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Deurenberg-Yap M, Chew SK, Lin VF, Tan BY, van Staveren WA, Deurenberg P. Relationships between indices of obesity and its co-morbidities in multi-ethnic Singapore. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001; 25: 1554–62.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Henriksson KM, Lindblad U, Gullberg B, Agren B, Nilsson-Ehle P, Råstam L. Body composition, ethnicity and alcohol consumption as determinants for the development of blood pressure in a birth cohort of young middle-aged men. Eur J Epidemiol 2003; 18: 955–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Lear SA, Toma M, Birmingham CL, Frohlich JJ. Modification of the relationship between simple anthropometric indices and risk factors by ethnic background. Metabolism 2003; 52: 1295–301.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Koda M, Ando F, Shimokata H, Kuzuya F. The effects of aging on the relationship between changes in body weight, serum lipid levels, and blood pressure. Jpn J Geriat (Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi) 1998; 35: 631–6 (in Japanese).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Neter JE, Stam BE, Kok FJ, Grobbee DE, Geleijnse JM. Influence of weight reduction on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Hypertension 2003; 42: 878–84.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Yataco AR, Busby-Whitehead J, Drinkwater DT, Katzel LI. Relationship of body composition and cardiovascular fitness to lipoprotein lipid profiles in master athletes and sedentary men. Aging Clin Exp Res 1997; 9: 88–94.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Tuomilehto J. Body mass index and prognosis in elderly hypertensive patients: a report from the European Working Party on High Blood Pressure in the Elderly. Am J Med 1991; 90(3A): 34S–41S.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Mancia G, Di Rienzo M, Grassi G, Parati G. Blood pressure variability and reflex control in the elderly. Aging Clin Exp Res 1995; 7: 3–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Sorkin JD, Muller DC, Andres R. Longitudinal change in height of men and women: implications for interpretation of the body mass index: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Am J Epidemiol 1999; 150: 969–77.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Dubey RK, Oparil S, Imthurn B, Jackson EK. Sex hormones and hypertension. Cardiovasc Res 2002; 53: 688–708.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Shewmon DA. Lipids, atherosclerosis, and the postmenopausal woman. A clinical perspective. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am 1994; 21: 337–55.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ichiro Wakabayashi MD, PhD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wakabayashi, I. Relationships of body mass index with blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations at different ages. Aging Clin Exp Res 16, 461–466 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327402

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327402

Keywords

Navigation