Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Uygur Centenarians

Abstract

t has been shown that the humans living to a very old age have a genetic tendency toward moderate and balanced blood pressure (BP). 1,2 The Uygurs in Xinjiang are a naturally longevous population, surviving to a very old age without any medical treatment or services. There have been studies showing that the Uygur people do live to an older age than other people in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, 3,4 but these reports have not provided information on the blood pressure (BP) variations, such as the day -night BP differences and the circadian rhythm, in the Uygur centenarians.Noninvasive 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) devices are now commercially available and are often used to overcome the 'white-coat' effect and identify white-coat hypertension when studying the circadian rhythm of BP. A person's ambulatory BP measured during daily life can provide more meaningful information than can recordings of BP taken in the physician's office, and interesting information is provided when this method is used for persons of different ethnicities. Therefore we used ABPM in our study of office and ambulatory BP, pulse rate (PR), prevalence of hypertension, difference between day-and night-time BP and PR, and circadian BP and PR rhythms in Circulation Journal Vol.66, January 2002 centenarian, longevous, and elderly Uygurs. Methods Study PopulationTwo hundred and thirty-six clinically healthy subjects were recruited from Uygur residences by randomized, parallel-design sampling in Hotan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China during July and August 2000. All subjects gave their informed consent to participate. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to age: a centenarian group (33 subjects, age ≥100 years), a longevous group (103 subjects, age 90-99 years) and an elderly group (100 subjects, age 65-70 years). Elderly and longevous subjects were engaged in physical labor, despite advancing age, but the centenarians only managed their daily physical activities. We confirmed the age of subjects through resident registration forms, and marital, family and personal histories conveyed in the local language. The office BP examination was undertaken at the local hospital. All subjects resided in a dormitory of the health-care center of the village for the 3 days of this investigation. Twentyfour-hour ABPM was conducted in each subject's place of residence and they were asked to maintain their normal schedule of activity and regular rest. A diary of their activities was recorded during the BP monitoring. All subjects were served their usual meals at 07.00, 11.30, and 19.00 h. Subjects underwent other physical examinations after the ABPM ceased. None of the subjects had previously received antihypertensive agents. Office BP and 24-h BP/PR MonitoringThe office BP was determined at the beginning of the Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Uygur CentenariansMedet Jumabay, MD; Yukio Ozawa, MD; Hiroshi Kawamura, MD*; Satoshi Saito, MD; Yoichi Izumi, MD; Hiromi Mitsubayashi, MD*...

Blood pressure in centenarians in Poland

“…11 This study showed a steady increase in prevalence of hypertension with age with highest percentage of hypertensive subjects among the centenarians (39%).…”

White Coat Hypertension in Centenarians

“…Subject ages were confirmed on the basis of resident registration forms, marital, family, and personal histories conveyed in the native Uygur language. Centenarians were selected as representing Uygur centenarians (18.9/100,000) 4 in the Hotan area if they were ambulant, capable of self-care, and able to hold simple conversation. For all subjects, we obtained physical and routine laboratory examination in the week preceding the study.…”

“…4 The Uygurs in Xinjiang, China, are particularly long-lived. Extreme longevity in humans seems to be associated with numerous factors.…”

“…1 However, our previous study noted that Uygur centenarians demonstrated higher blood pressure (BP) than other elderly subjects on occasional measurement. 4 A study of centenarians has shown that 24-h BP values were higher than office BP values, 5 but very limited numbers of centenarians have been studied.…”

Time-Series Analysis of Systolic Blood Pressure Variation in Thirty-Three Uygur Centenarians in China

“…These subjects were divided into two groups according to age: a group of Uygur centenarians in Hotan (UCH) (33 subjects; age 100 years) and a group of elderly UEH (100 subjects age 65-70 years). The age of subjects was confirmed through resident registration forms and personal histories (5). The height and weight of subjects were measured before the 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).…”