Recreational, Not Occupational Physical Activity Cuts Hypertension Risk

Risk of developing hypertension was significantly lessened in people with moderate to high levels of recreational physical activity, according to a Chinese study.

Risk reduction in those with high levels of activity was also significantly greater than that of medium levels of activity, indicating a dose-response relationship, reported Wei Ma, MD, PhD, of Shandong University in Jinan, China, and colleagues.

In a meta-analysis of 13 cohort studies from 3 continents including a total of 136,846 participants without hypertension at baseline, researchers analyzed the effects of recreational and occupational physical activity on the risk of hypertension.

During the median 9.8 years of follow-up, 15,607 participants developed hypertension.  Risk of developing hypertension was significantly lower in those with moderate levels (relative risk 0.89, 95% CI 0.85-0.94) and high levels (relative risk 0.81, 95% CI 0.76-0.85) of recreational activity.

"Generally, high occupational physical activity consists of heavy lifting, prolonged standing, and highly repetitive work, while recreational physical activity is often characterized by dynamic contractions of large muscle groups increasing whole-body metabolism and cardiac output with ability to rest when fatigued," they wrote.

"The international recommendations for health-promoting physical activity should distinguish between occupational physical activity and recreational physical activity," they concluded.

–Michael Potts

Reference

Ma W, Xi B, Want Y, Reilly KH, Xun H, Huai P.  Physical Activity and Risk of Hypertension [published online ahead of print September 30, 2013].  AHA. doi: 10.1161/​HYPERTENSIONAHA.113.01965