Blood Pressure, on Prospective Analysis the Best Predictor of Coronary Mortality in Turkish Adults, Rose by a Mean of Over 5/3 mmHg in the Past 10 Years

In a 1 O-year follow-up of the co h ort of the Turkish Adult Risk Factor Study, blood pressure (BP) was measured in 1895 subjects (mean age 50.6 ±14), and trends were studied after stratifying for sex and age groups. Criteria for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) and death from CHD canformed to those previously described. When age was kept constant, overall net mean BP of the sample population rose by 4.4/2.7 mmHg in men and 6.4/4.2 mmHg in women over 10 years. The prevalence of hypertension, defined as being on antihypertensive medication, or displaying a blood pressuı·e ~ 140 and/or ~90 mmHg, in the total cohort of 2455 participants, was 40% in men and 51.6% in women, indicating the existence of 11.5 million hypertensive Turkish adults. Forty-five % of them were estimated to be under drug treatment and that hypertension control was achieved only in 42% of themas defined by keeping BP at normal or mildly hypertensive !eve! s. Waist circumference again had the strongest correlation between systolic or diastolic pressure in both genders, followed by body weight. Logistic regression analysis for death from CHD ata lO-year follow-up among participants free of CHD at baseline revealed systolic BP to be significant independent predictor in both genders such that each inerement of 10 mmHg was associated with 59% excess coronary mortality. For nonfatal CHD, systolic BP had an independent impact only in men and at borderline significance, and diastolic BP carried a borderline significance solely in women. A high pulse pressure or a low diastolic pressure were shown for the first time among Turks to predict coronary events, at least in men.