A prospective study on the associations of hypertension, level of blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of the military retiree in Xian

Abstract

Objective To study whether hypertension and level of blood pressure are associated with cardiovascular mortality in the elderly.Methods A health screening program for all retired cadres aged 55 years or older in 22 retired cadre homes of PLA in Xi’an in March 1987 and a cohort analytic study in 1?268 males of them were carried out.The baseline data of smoking,cholesterol,triglyceride,blood pressure,histories of hypertension and coronary heart disease,stroke and diabetes were investigated.Main outcome measures were cardiovascular,cerebrovascular and all cause mortalities.Results The cohort was followed up until 20 November 1999 and the mean follow up time was 11.17 years.The total person year of follow up was 14?163.The adjusted mortality (per 100?000 person year) was 2?146 for all cause (304 deaths),367 for coronary heart disease (CHD) (52 deaths) and 268 for stroke (38 deaths).Using Cox’s proportional hazards survival analysis,after adjusting for age,total cholesterol,triglyceride,smoking,drinking and physical exercise,we found that the systolic blood pressure and the history of hypertension were the independent risk factors influencing all cause,CHD and stroke mortalities.Conclusions The prevalence of hypertension and the all cause and stroke mortalities in this cohort were lower than those in the same age groups of the general population.The present prospective study provides strong evidence that history of hypertension and systolic blood pressure were the important factors influencing all cause,cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease moralities in the military elderly.