Habitual exercise improves hypertension risk despite air pollution
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Habitual exercise, even in areas with significant air pollution and airborne particulate matter, conferred a reduced risk for hypertension, according to research published in Circulation.
“Extended outdoor activity in urban areas increases the intake of air pollutants, which can worsen the harmful health effects of air pollution,” Xiang Qian Lao, PhD, associate professor at the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shatin, Hong Kong, said in a press release. “While we found that high physical activity combined with lower air pollution exposure was linked to lower risk of high blood pressure, physical activity continued to have a protective effect even when people were exposed to high pollution levels. The message is that physical activity, even in polluted air, is an important high blood pressure prevention strategy.”
For this study of Taiwanese individuals, researchers analyzed a cohort of adults without hypertension (n = 140,072; mean age, 42 years; 49% men) who underwent standard medical screenings between 2001 and 2016. Investigators using a self-administered questionnaire ascertained data on habitual exercise and utilized satellite data to estimate individual exposure to airborne particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) based on each participant’s home address.
Within the cohort, 34.2% of participants reported no physical activity while 29.8% reported moderate physical activity and 36% reported high levels of physical activity. Mean systolic BP was 112.5 mm Hg and mean diastolic BP was 68.7 mm Hg. The mean concentration of PM2.5 was 26.1 g/m.
After adjustment, researchers observed that greater reported levels of physical activity were associated with lower risk for hypertension (HR for moderate vs. inactive = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.97; HR for high vs. inactive = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96).
Greater concentration of PM2.5 was associated with greater risk for hypertension (HR for moderate PM2.5 vs. low = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.32-1.43; HR for high PM2.5 vs. low = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.81-2.04), according to the researchers.
However, researchers observed no significant interaction was between levels of physical activity and PM2.5 (HR = 1.01; 95% CI, 1–1.02).
“Regular physical activity is a safe approach for people living in relatively polluted regions to prevent hypertension and should be promoted even in polluted areas. Air pollution mitigation is important for hypertension prevention,” Lao told Healio. “I am surprised with the finding that air pollution has a much stronger association with hypertension than that with regular physical activity. That means air pollution mitigation is more efficient for hypertension prevention.”
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