Impact of healthy lifestyles on risk of hypertension in the Chinese population: finding from SHUN-CVD study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Lifestyle factors are known to play a role in the development of hypertension. We aimed to study the relationship between lifestyle and hypertension in a Chinese population. Methods This study involved 3,329 participants (1,463 men and 1,866 women) aged 18–96 years in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong United Network on Cardiovascular Disease. A healthy lifestyle score was derived from 5 factors: no smoking, no alcohol consumption, active physical activity, normal body mass index, and a healthy diet. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between lifestyle score and hypertension. The influence of each lifestyle component on hypertension was also assessed. Results In the overall population, 950 (28.5%) participants had hypertension. The risk of hypertension decreased with increasing healthy lifestyle scores. Compared with participants with the lowest score (score: 0), the multivariable odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals for participants with scores 3, 4, and 5 were 0.65 (0.41–1.01), 0.62 (0.40–0.97), and 0.37 (0.22–0.61), respectively (P for trend <0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, and diabetes, the score was associated with hypertension risk (P for trend = 0.005). Compared with a lifestyle score of 0, the adjusted OR for hypertension for participants with a score of 5 was 0.46 (0.26–0.80). Conclusions The risk of hypertension is inversely related to the healthy lifestyle score. This reinforces the need to address lifestyle to reduce the risk of hypertension.