Cultural consonance and arterial blood pressure in urban Brazil

In previous research in Brazil, we tested the hypothesis that cultural consonance is associated with arterial blood pressure. Cultural consonance is the degree to which individuals are able to approximate in their own behaviors the prototypes for behavior encoded in shared cultural models. Individuals who had higher cultural consonance in the domains of lifestyle and social support had lower blood pressures. The aim of the current research was to replicate and extend these findings. First, a more extensive cultural domain analysis was carried out, improving the description of cultural models. Second, more sensitive measures of cultural consonance were developed. Third, data were collected in the same community studied previously. The following findings emerged: (a) cultural domain analysis (using a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques) indicated that cultural models for these domains are widely shared within the community; (b) the associations of cultural consonance in these domains with arterial blood pressure were replicated; and, (c) the pattern of the associations differed slightly from that observed in earlier research. This pattern of associations can be understood in terms of macrosocial influences over the past ten years. The results support the importance of long-term fieldwork in anthropology. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blood pressure and lipid profile in young women: the role of anthropometric measurement

Body composition has fundamental importance in the quality of life and is a powerful predictor of mortality and morbidity in humans. The identification and monitoring of the amount of body fat have been receiving special attention in aspects related to health promotion, not just for its actions in the prevention and in the control of cardiovascular diseases but also for their induction and association with risk factors, especially in the plasmatic lipid levels and arterial pressure. It was investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (%BF) by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with the blood pressure levels (systolic and diastolic) and serum lipids (TC, HDL-c, LDL-c, VLDL-c, TG). In a group of fifty seven women (aged 18 to 26 years old ), obesity was detected in 5 and 19 women by BMI (≥ 30 kg/m2) and %BF (≥ 30%), respectively. BMI and % BF were positively correlated with blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and highly significant in the obese group by %BF. Moreover, BMI and % BF were significantly correlated with all lipids and lipoprotein fractions VLDL-c and triglyceride, respectively. These results suggest that %BF is a good indicator of “occult obesity” in subjects with normal body mass index. The associated use of BMI and %BF to better evaluate obesity may improve the study of blood pressure levels and serum lipid changes that are commonly associated with obesity.

High sodium intake during postnatal phases induces an increase in arterial blood pressure in adult rats

Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento em Pesquisa (CAPES)

Assessing the influence of mechanical ventilation on blood gases and blood pressure in rattlesnakes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Exercise training improves ambulatory blood pressure but not arterial stiffness in heart transplant recipients

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the most prevalent comorbidity after heart transplantation (HT). Exercise training (ET) is widely recommended as a key non-pharmacologic intervention for the prevention and management of hypertension, but its effects on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and some mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension have not been studied in this population. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ET on ABP and arterial stiffness of HT recipients.METHODS: 40 HT patients, randomized to ET (n = 31) or a control group (n = 9) underwent a maximal graded exercise test, 24-hour ABP monitoring, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) assessment before the intervention and at a 12-week follow-up assessment. The ET program was performed thrice-weekly and consisted primarily of endurance exercise (40 minutes) at similar to 70% of maximum oxygen uptake (Vo(2MAX))RESULTS: The ET group had reduced 24-hour (4.0 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, p < 0.01) and daytime (4.8 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, p < 0.01) systolic ABP, and 24-hour (7.0 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, p < 0.001) daytime (7.5 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, p < 0.001) and nighttime (5.9 +/- 1.5 mm Hg, p < 0.001) diastolic ABP after the intervention. The ET group also had improved Vo(2MAX) (9.7% +/- 2.6%, p < 0.001) after the intervention. However, PWV did not change after ET. No variable was changed in the control group after the intervention.CONCLUSIONS: The 12-week ET program was effective for reducing ABP but not PWV in heart transplant recipients. This result suggesfs that endurance ET may be a tool to counteract hypertension in this high-risk population. (C) 2015 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.

Diastolic blood pressure associated with accumulated work time among drivers and collectors

The relationship between diastolic blood pressure and the variables total cumulative working time and age was examined by regression analysis. The study was carried out among 839 bus drivers and conductors, users of an occupational health center in Campinas, S. Paulo State, Brazil. The main results were a positive association between diastolic blood pressure and cumulative working time, as well as an interaction between this variable and the bus worker's age.

Impact of obesity on autonomic modulation, heart rate and blood pressure in obese young people

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

High blood pressure and sedentary behavior in adolescents are associated even after controlling for confounding factors

The aim of this study was to determine whether high blood pressure (HBP) is associated with sedentary behavior in young people even after controlling for potential confounders (gender, age, socioeconomic level, tobacco, alcohol, obesity and physical activity). In this epidemiological study, 1231 adolescents were evaluated. Blood pressure was measured with an oscillometric device and waist circumference with an inextensible tape. Sedentary behavior (watching television, computer use and playing video games) and physical activity were assessed by a questionnaire. We used mean and standard deviation to describe the statistical analysis, and the association between HBP and sedentary behavior was assessed by the chi-squared test. Binary logistic regression was used to observe the magnitude of association and cluster analyses (sedentary behavior and abdominal obesity; sedentary behavior and physical inactivity). HBP was associated with sedentary behaviors [odds ratio (OR) = 2.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.41-3.96], even after controlling for various confounders (OR = 1.68, CI = 1.03-2.75). In cluster analysis the combination of sedentary behavior and elevated abdominal obesity contributed significantly to an increased likelihood of having HBP (OR = 13.51, CI 7.21-23.97). Sedentary behavior was associated with HBP, and excess fat in the abdominal region contributed to the modulation of this association.

Correlates of blood pressure according to early, on time, and late maturation in adolescents

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Daily intake of pasteurized orange juice decreases serum cholesterol, fasting glucose and diastolic blood pressure in adults

Previous studies have shown that fresh squeezed orange juice or juice from reconstituted concentrate can help prevent the development of atherosclerosis. Pasteurized orange juice presently represents the major orange juice available in the market, and because of this, it becomes necessary to determine the healthy benefits associated with this product. In this study we investigated the effect of regular consumption of pasteurized orange juice on the nutritional status, biochemical profile, and arterial blood pressure in healthy men and women. Men and women volunteered to consume pasteurized orange juice (500 mL·d–1 and 750 mL·d–1, respectively), for 8 weeks. Anthropometric, biochemical, hemodynamic, and dietary assessments were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the experimental period. Total cholesterol and LDL-C significantly decreased in both men and women after the consumption of orange juice, and an increase in HDL-C level was detected exclusively in women. Fasting glucose, diastolic blood pressure, and triglyceride levels dropped in men after the consumption of orange juice. Anthropometric variables did not change with orange juice consumption, only waist circumference decreased significantly in women. Consumption of orange juice increased the energy and carbohydrate intake for women; however, vitamin C and folate increased after the orange juice period for both men and women. Regular consumption of pasteurized orange juice by men (750 mL·d–1) and women (500 mL·d–1) reduced the risk of developing atherosclerosis, and increased the nutritional quality of their diets.