Men with higher income are facing greater risks of hypertension, or high blood pressure, according to a new study presented at the 84th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS).
"Men with higher incomes need to improve their lifestyles to prevent high blood pressure," said Dr. Shingo Yanagiya, study author from the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan. He added that steps to prevent hypertension include "eating healthily, exercising and controlling weight. Dr. Yanagiya also added that alcohol intake should be kept to "moderate levels," avoiding binge drinking.
Examining the Link Between Annual Household Income and Hypertension Risks
The J-HOPE study examined the relationship between Japanese employees with high blood pressure and their respective household income. A sample total of 4,314 individuals consisted of 3,153 men and 1,161 women. All of them were working daytime jobs from 12 workplaces and of normal blood pressure at the time of enrollment back in 2012.
Staff who participated in the study were divided into four brackets based on their annual household income. Those with an annual income of 10 million or more in Japanese yen (JPY) were in one group. It was followed by groups in 8 to 9.9 million JPY, 5 to 7.9 million, and those earning less than 5 million JPY annually.
Researchers behind the study then monitored if there was a link between developing high blood pressure and income for a period of two-years.
Men in the highest income group were almost twice as likely to develop hypertension compared to the lowest income group. Those in the 8 to 9.9 million and 5 to 7.9 million groups were 50% more likely to have high blood pressure compared to those in the lowest income group. In the study, however, those in the highest income group did not provide enough statistical significance to provide a clear analysis.
The same positive link was found regardless of age, baseline blood pressure, occupation, worksite, family size, and whether they were smoking or not. Other factors that negatively affected the link were alcohol consumption and body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2). Both were factors that were more prevalent in men from the higher income group.
Link Found Only in Men and Implications in Intervention Efforts
Meanwhile, women showed no significant relationship between income and blood pressure. However, the study illustrated that women coming from higher-income households appeared to have lower risks of developing hypertension.
"Some previous Japanese surveys have reported that higher-income households is associated with more undesirable lifestyles in men, but not in women," Dr. Yanagiya summarized. He explained that their study supports the idea that men from higher-income households tend towards obesity and more alcohol intake. These are hypertension risk factors not observed among women.
Dr. Yusuke Yoshikawa, JCS 2020 public relations coordinator, added: "Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors of cardiovascular disease in Japan because the average daily salt intake in Japan (approx. 10 g/day) is much higher than desired." He noted that the J-HOPE study might be a "potential key to successful intervention" for those at risk of stroke and heart disease.
In a report published on March 28, 2019, it noted that 43 million people in Japan suffer from high blood pressure. This makes it one of the leading causes of death in the country, next to smoking. Dr. Yanagiya said that hypertension is a lifestyle-related disease. Knowing the risks concerning socioeconomic class would help Japanese physicians focus their prevention efforts.
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