In comparison to 2019, researchers have found that Americans’ blood pressure readings rose significantly in 2020, when the U.S. was in the midst of pandemic lockdowns, suggesting that there are “far-reaching health implications” associated with the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study.
The Hill reported that researchers studied the year-over-year blood pressure readings of nearly a half-million Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the average age of participants being 46. Their findings were published in the journal Circulation.
The health data for the study came from Quest employees and spouses who were participants in a company wellness program. Participants included both those with elevated blood pressure and normal blood pressure levels, The Hill noted.
The blood pressure readings were examined by Dr. Luke Laffin, co-director of the Center for Blood Pressure Disorders at Cleveland Clinic, and his colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and Quest Diagnostics, CNN reported
The researchers found that while blood pressure readings saw little change from 2019 through the first three months of 2020, from April 2020 through December 2020 there was a significant increase compared with the same period in 2019, The New York Times reported.
What the analysis found was not surprising, given the year the nation experienced, as it struggled with the global pandemic that resulted in lockdowns, the loss of loved ones, unemployment, depression, the upheaval of daily life, and stress on many levels, the news outlet stated.
How is blood pressure measured?
Blood pressure measurements describe “the pressure of blood against the walls of the arteries,” The Times explained, which if elevated, over time “can damage the heart, the brain, blood vessels, kidneys, and eyes,” and can also affect sexual function.
Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association, who was not involved in the study, told the Times: “These are very important data that are not surprising, but are shocking.”
The increases were seen in both men and women, and in all age groups, with larger increases seen in women for both systolic (pressure as the heart contracts) and diastolic (pressure as the heart rests between beats) blood pressure, The Times explained. Slightly more than half of the participants were women.
Blood pressure “is measured in units of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and consists of two numbers.” Normal blood pressure is said to be 120/80 or less — the first number refers to systolic pressure, and the second number refers to diastolic pressure — however, there has been a decades-long dispute about the optimal levels, The Times reported.
During the pandemic, researchers found blood pressure each month ranged from 1.10 to 2.50 mm Hg higher for systolic blood pressure and 0.14 to 0.53 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure compared to the year prior.
Laffin said, “We did see more pronounced increases in blood pressure in women. Now, we don’t know the exact reason for that. However, we do know and there’s data to suggest that the pandemic has tended to place more of an outsized burden on women, particularly women that work, and this is an employer-sponsored wellness program,” CNN reported.
The study failed to include information on the race and ethnicity of participants, which critics said was a major weakness, since hypertension is much more prevalent among Black Americans than among white or Hispanic Americans, according to The Times.
Because information on race and ethnicity was available only for 6 percent of the study participants, Dr. Laffin said “an analysis would not be meaningful,” The Times noted.
READ MORE:
"lasting" - Google News
December 08, 2021 at 08:51PM
https://ift.tt/3rHt1VM
Higher blood pressure may be one more lasting health impact of the coronavirus pandemic, study finds - PennLive
"lasting" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2tpNDpA
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Higher blood pressure may be one more lasting health impact of the coronavirus pandemic, study finds - PennLive"
Post a Comment