Abstract
The relations of red blood cell sodium (RBC Na) and potassium (RBC K) concentrations to blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension were assessed for 1805 men and women, aged 25 to 74 years, who participated in the baseline examination of the Gubbio Population Study in north central Italy. In men, in univariate analyses, RBC Na concentration was not significantly related to systolic or diastolic blood pressure, while RBC K concentration was significantly and inversely related to blood pressure. In women RBC Na values correlated significantly and directly with systolic and diastolic pressure, but RBC K concentration was not significantly related to blood pressure. Results of the multivariate analyses indicated in men a significant independent and inverse relationship of RBC K concentration with hypertension and blood pressure, and in women a significant positive association of RBC Na concentration with hypertension. RBC Na did not relate independently to either systolic or diastolic blood pressure in men or women. Age-specific analyses suggested that the relationships between RBC K level and blood pressure in men and the relationship between RBC Na level and hypertension in women were stronger in older (age 55 to 74 years) compared to younger participants (25 to 54 years). These findings indicate that the associations of RBC Na and K concentrations and hypertension may be sex and age specific. The nature of these gender- and age-specific associations remains to be clarified. Prospective data are also needed for further clarification of the relation of intracellular Na metabolism to the etiology of hypertension.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 44-51 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Annals of Epidemiology |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1995 |
Funding
The Gubbio Population Study is funded in part by grant ROlHL40397 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Trevisan is a recipient of Research Career Development Award KWHL02189-OlA1 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Study activities were supervised and guided by a Scientific Policy Board whose membersh ave been Profs. P. Angeletti (Chairman) (decreased)M, . Mancini, A. Menotti, J. Stamler, R. Stamler, and A. Zanchetti. The valuable assistanceo f Dr. E. Roccella is also gratefully acknowledged.A n important role in planning and initiating the study was played by Prof. H. Kahn and Dr. P. Pasquini. The study was made possible thanks to the fine cooperation of the people of Gubbio, its community leaders, particularly Dr. S. Panfili and Mr. 0. Faramelli, and its physicians. We also expressa ppreciation to the Ospedale Civile of Gubbio, particularly to Dr. W. Panarelli, Dr. M. Angeletti, Dr. G. Montanari, Dr. A. Trenti, and the technical staff of its laboratory, and to the other two laboratories of the Seconda Clinica Medica, Secondo Policlinico, University of Naples, and of the Chimica Clinica, Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome, respectively,t heir leadership and their staffs, including Dr. M. Cirillo of the former laboratory and Prof. G. Morisi and Dr. A. Buongiorno in Rome. We also acknowledge the fine work of the field survey team: Ms. K. Bartoletti, Dr. F. Biancarelli, Dr. C. Cancellotti, Ms. L. Mastrogiuseppe,D r. L. Matarazzi, Dr. M. Pa&Ii, Ms. A. Scavizzi, and Dr. 0. Tenadura. We also thank Dr. L. Carratelli for his support, Dr. B. Castagna for his assistancei n developing the information systems to process and analyze the data, and Mr. Dan Garside at Northwestern University Medical School for his aid in transferring data to permit joint analysis in Italy and the United States. We are also grateful to Prof. R. Stamler for her valuable suggestionsc oncerning the data analysesa nd the text of this report.
Keywords
- Hypertension
- epidemiology
- erythrocyte cation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Epidemiology