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(Hypertension. 2001;37:1256.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
From the Centre dInvestigations Préventives et Cliniques, Paris, France.
Correspondence to Athanase Benetos, MD, PhD, Centre IPC, 6/14 rue La Pérouse, 75784 Paris Cedex 16, France. E-mail benetos{at}ipc.asso.fr
| Abstract |
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2.5 g/L, personal history of diabetes,
smoking (current smokers), body mass index >28
kg/m2, and heart rate >80 bpm. CVD risk
related to the presence of isolated hypertension (assessed in
hypertensive subjects without ARFs versus the reference group)
increased linearly from 15% at the age of 30 years to 134% at the age
of 80 years. In hypertensive subjects, one additional ARF increased CVD
risk by 56% (47% to 65%,
P<0.01) in younger subjects
but only by 4% (-8% to 17%,
P=NS) in older subjects. The
role of hypercholesterolemia and tobacco
smoking in CVD mortality was significantly higher in hypertensive
subjects aged <55 years than in hypertensive subjects aged
55 years
(P<0.01), whereas the roles of
tachycardia and obesity were not affected by age. In
younger hypertensive subjects, evaluation of CVD risk and therapeutic
strategies should target ARFs. In older subjects, the presence of high
blood pressure levels seems to be the major determinant of CVD
risk.
Key Words: hypertension, essential risk factors blood pressure mortality
| Introduction |
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It has been shown that antihypertensive treatment only
partially reverses the risk of cardiovascular
complications, especially coronary complications, in
hypertensive
individuals.3 4 These
results can be explained by the fact that hypertension-related
complications, especially coronary heart disease, are
determined by a large number of associated risk factors (ARFs),
especially metabolic parameters, that are very
often altered in both treated and untreated hypertensive individuals.
Several studies have reported that hypertensive subjects
consistently have higher levels of total
cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), heart rate (HR),
glycemia, and
triglycerides.5 6
In a previous report, it was observed that hypertension usually occurs
in conjunction with other metabolically linked risk factors
and that 13% of men and 20% of women present an isolated
hypertension.6 In the
Framingham study, it was observed that clusters of
3 of these ARFs
occurred 4 times as often as expected by
chance.5 Among individuals
with hypertension,
40% of the coronary events in men and
68% of the coronary events in women are attributable to the
presence of
2 ARFs. Only 14% of coronary events in
hypertensive men and 5% of coronary events in hypertensive
women occurred in the absence of additional risk factors. The risk of
cardiovascular events among hypertensive patients
varies greatly depending on the number of these coexisting risk
factors.7 8
Therefore, increased CVD risk in hypertensive patients may due to the
presence of both high BP and ARFs.
The latest international recommendations for BP management clearly indicate that among subjects with hypertension, CVD risk depends on both the BP levels and the presence of ARFs.2 9 However, the respective roles of BP elevation and ARFs in increased CVD risk may be modified by age. As age increases, the prevalence of hypertension, especially systolic hypertension, dramatically increases.10 Moreover, aging influences several other risk factors, leading to an accumulation of these risk factors in the elderly.
In the present study, we evaluated the impact of ARFs in
cardiovascular mortality in younger and older
hypertensive men. Subjects were classified into 2 age groups. For each
age group, we compared CVD mortality in 3 groups of hypertensive men
according to the number of ARFs (no ARF, 1 to 2 ARFs, and
3 ARFs)
with CVD mortality in low-risk subjects of the same cohort
(normotensive men with no ARFs). We also evaluated whether the role of
each risk factor was modified by age.
| Methods |
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15 000
examinations per year from 1970 to 1978 and
25 000 per year
thereafter for people living in the Paris area. Clinical and biological
data were obtained during the standard health checkup at the IPC
Center, and the same procedures were used for all subjects. The study
population was composed of all the hypertensive men (systolic
BP [SBP]
140 mm Hg or diastolic BP [DBP]
90 mm Hg or antihypertensive treatment, n=60 343) who had a
health checkup at the IPC Center during the period of January 1978 to
December 1988. Normotensive men (SBP <140 mm Hg and DBP
<90 mm Hg, without treatment for hypertension) with no
modifiable CVD risk factors (defined in the next paragraph) who were
examined at the IPC Center during the same period were used as the
reference population (n=29 640). If a person had
1 examination, the
first examination was used for analysis. For all variables
and for both younger and older subjects, the percentage of missing
values was <1%. All clinical and biological parameters
used to determine the presence of risk factors were assessed the day of
the examination.
Supine BP was measured 3 times in the right arm by use of a
manual sphygmomanometer after a 10-minute rest period. The mean of the
last 2 measurements was calculated. The first and the fifth Korotkoff
phases were used to define SBP and DBP. A self-administered
questionnaire containing dichotomous (yes or no) questions regarding
tobacco use (current consumption of >10 cigarettes per day) and a
personal history of diabetes was administered. HR was measured with an
ECG, and results were inserted into the database in 1 of the following
classes: HR <60 bpm, 60 bpm
HR
80 bpm, 80 bpm<HR
100 bpm, and HR
>100 bpm. Biological parameters were measured under
fasting conditions. Plasma cholesterol was measured with a
Technicon SMA 12.
Associated cardiovascular risk factors
considered for this analysis were as follows:
hypercholesterolemia (total
cholesterol
2.5 g/L), personal history of diabetes,
tobacco consumption (current smoker, ie, >10 cigarettes per day),
obesity (BMI >28 kg/m2 ), and
HR >80 bpm.
To study the respective roles of hypertension and ARFs in CVD mortality, hypertensive subjects were divided into 3 groups. The first group had no other associated CVD risk factors. The second group had 1 or 2 cardiovascular ARFs. The third group had at least 3 cardiovascular ARFs. The CVD mortality in these 3 groups was compared with the CVD mortality in normotensive subjects without ARFs (reference group).
To assess age-dependent differences in the effects of
hypertension and ARFs, subjects were separated into 2 age groups:
younger subjects (aged <55 years) and older subjects (aged
55
years). The role of age was also assessed for the entire population by
studying the interactions of age and hypertension and of age and ARFs
on CVD mortality (see data analysis).
Mortality Data
Deceased subjects were identified from the mortality
records of the Institut National de Statistiques et dEtudes
Economiques (INSEE). A patient from our cohort was classified as
deceased when he had the same first name, last name, gender, and date
of birth as a person recorded in the INSEE mortality records.
By use of this matching procedure, the identification error was <1%.
Only subjects with all 4 of these criteria were classified as deceased.
Individuals matching for gender, last name, and only 1 of the other 2
criteria were excluded from the study. Mortality data were recorded
for a period of 0 to 18 years (mean, 14 years). Follow-up ended in
December 1996. Causes of mortality, taken from the death certificates,
were provided by INSERMs Department of Mortality (Unit SC 8). Causes
of death were codified according to the International Classification of
Disease (8th revision before 1978 and 9th revision thereafter). The
codes 390 to 459, 785, 798, and 799 were used to identify all
cardiovascular deaths.
Data Analysis
A multivariate analysis was
used to compare biological and clinical parameters in each
group, after adjustment for age. The prevalence of tobacco consumption,
diabetes, tachycardia (HR >80 bpm), and treated
hypertension in the different groups was compared by a
2 test. Mortality rates were compared by
a univariate analysis with no adjustment. A
2 test was used to compare mortality
rates in each group.
Cox regression models were used to determine the role of age and other risk factors in younger and older hypertensive subjects.
A multivariate analysis using a Cox regression model was used to evaluate risk ratios in each group compared with the normotensive group (reference group). Age was included in the model. The interaction between age and hypertension (agexisolated hypertension) and age and ARFs (agexARFs) were also included in the Cox regression model. To illustrate these interactions, we calculated CVD mortality risk from coefficients estimated by the Cox regression analysis at different ages: hypertensive men without other ARFs were compared with normotensive men for the agexisolated interaction, and hypertensive men with 2 other ARFs were compared with hypertensive men without other ARFs for the agexARF interaction.
All statistical analyses were carried out by use of the SAS statistical software package. The present study received approval from the Comité National de lInformatique et des Libertés. All study participants gave their informed consent for their data to be used for epidemiological studies.
| Results |
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In both younger and older men, SBP, DBP, and pulse pressure (PP) increased in hypertensive subjects with ARFs. In younger subjects, the percentage treated for hypertension increased with the number of ARFs. This was not observed in older subjects.
CVD Mortality in Younger and Older Hypertensive
Men According to the Number of ARFs
Compared with the reference group, younger men with
isolated hypertension had unadjusted CVD mortality rates, which were
twice as high (P<0.005)
(Table 1). However, because of the low mortality rates in
these 2 groups, CVD survival probability curves showed very little
difference between subjects with isolated hypertension and normotensive
control subjects
(Figure 2, left panel). CVD mortality rates increased
dramatically in the presence of ARFs; there was a 5-fold increase in
the group with 1 to 2 ARFs and a 15-fold increase in the group with >2
ARFs (P<0.001 versus
normotensive subjects). These results are also shown in
Figure 2 (left panel). Survival probability decreased
significantly when hypertension was associated with other risk
factors.
|
In older subjects, compared with the reference group, unadjusted CVD mortality rates showed a 3-fold increase in the group with isolated hypertension and in the group with 1 to 2 ARFs (P<0.001 versus reference group). In the group with >2 ARFs, CVD mortality rates showed a 4.5-fold increase versus rates in the reference group (P<0.001). Figure 2 (right panel) also illustrates these results. Older subjects with isolated hypertension had a significantly lower CVD survival probability compared with the reference group, whereas hypertensive subjects with 1 or 2 ARFs did not show any further decrease in survival probability. Survival probability showed a more important decrease for hypertensive subjects with >2 ARFs.
Similar results were obtained when age-adjusted relative risk for CVD mortality was assessed (Table 2). Compared with normotensive subjects, younger hypertensive subjects with no ARFs had a higher risk of CVD mortality. In this age group, the presence of ARFs dramatically increased CVD mortality risk. In men aged >55 years, however, the increase in CVD risk was observed even in those hypertensive subjects without any other ARFs. The presence of ARFs had little effect on CVD risk in this age group.
|
Respective Roles of BP Increase and ARFs in CVD
Mortality
Our analysis showed that in hypertensive men,
the risk of CVD mortality related to the addition of 1 ARF was 1.56
(95% CI 1.47 to 1.65) in younger subjects and 1.04 (95% CI 0.92 to
1.17) in older subjects. After adjustment for SBP and DBP, in
hypertensive men, the risk related to the increment of 1 associated
risk factor was 1.55 (95% CI 1.43 to 1.68) in younger men and 1.03
(95% CI 0.91 to 1.15) in older men. A significant interaction between
age and isolated hypertension was observed for CVD mortality
(P<0.005), implying that the
role of hypertension increased with age. As illustrated in
Figure 3, CVD risk related to the presence of isolated
hypertension (isolated hypertensive subjects versus reference group)
was 1.15 (95% CI 0.89 to 1.49) at the age of 30 years and 2.34 (95%
CI 2.27 to 2.41) at the age of 80 years. By contrast, the effect of
ARFs on CVD mortality significantly decreased with age (negative
interaction, P<0.0001). Thus,
as shown in
Figure 4, whereas at the age of 30 years, the CVD risk for
hypertensive subjects with 2 ARFs compared with subjects with isolated
hypertension was 4.50 (95% CI 3.57 to 5.63), at the age of 80 years,
the CVD risk related to the presence of 2 ARFs was 1.26 (95% CI 1.22
to 1.30).
|
|
We also evaluated the respective roles of each of the different ARFs in younger and older subjects by using a Cox analysis (Table 3). As expected, in both groups, age was a significant determinant of CVD mortality, but its role was more important in older than in younger subjects (P<0.01). The role of hypercholesterolemia and tobacco smoking in CVD mortality was significantly higher in younger than in older hypertensive subjects (P<0.01). Tachycardia and diabetes showed the same trends, but differences between age groups were not significant. However, obesity was a significant independent determinant only in older hypertensive subjects.
|
| Discussion |
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Prevalence of Risk Factors in Younger and Older
Hypertensive Men
Several studies have shown that hypertensive subjects
compared with normotensive subjects invariably have a higher incidence
of obesity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and
increased HR.11 We recently
reported that in a French population composed of 92 641 men examined
recently (1992 to 1997) at the IPC Center, 72% presented at
least 1 modifiable associated CVD risk factor, and among them, >7%
presented at least 3
ARFs.12 The results of the
present study show that in a population studied between 1978 and
1988, the prevalence of ARFs is very similar.
In the present study, we observed that the percentage of hypertensive subjects with ARFs increases only slightly in older subjects compared with younger subjects (74% versus 71%, respectively). This is due to the fact that some risk factors (such as diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia) dramatically increase with age, whereas others (such as tobacco smoking and tachycardia) are more frequent in younger hypertensive men.
Role of Hypertension in CVD Risk in Younger and
Older Hypertensive Men
The most important difference between the 2 age groups
concerns the impact of hypertension and the different ARFs on CVD
mortality. Our analysis shows that the role of hypertension
increases with age. Aging increases the hemodynamic
patterns of BP change due to an increase in large artery stiffness, and
borderline isolated hypertension becomes the dominant form of
hypertension.10 13
In the present study, when compared with younger hypertensive
subjects, older hypertensive subjects had higher SBP and PP but the
same DBP. Several studies have shown that SBP and PP are major risk
factors, primarily in older
subjects.14 15 16
The influence of SBP and PP levels on CVD mortality have been observed
in subjects up to 85 years of
age.17 18 The
present study clearly shows that the risk related to hypertension
increases with age. Because the prevalence of high SBP and PP increases
with age, our results point out that the risk attributable to SBP and
PP dramatically increases in older subjects.
By contrast, the role of ARFs seems to be much less important in older hypertensive men, despite the increase in the prevalence of most ARFs with age. Actually, with the exception of obesity (which plays a more important role in older subjects) and HR (whose role remains almost unchanged in older subjects), all other ARFs play a less important role in older than in younger hypertensive subjects. A number of studies reported that the effect of several major risk factors, especially cholesterol, decreased in older persons, losing its predictive value for CVD morbidity and mortality.19 20 Although this decrease, especially for tobacco smoking, can be attributed to natural selection, the fact that the risk for some ARFs is unchanged or even increases in older hypertensive subjects leads to the conclusion that the mechanisms responsible for arterial alterations are modified by age.
Another hypothesis is that chronic treatment of risk factors can modify their role on CVD mortality, especially in older subjects, for whom treatment of risk factors is more common. One of the limitations of the present study (subjects examined between 1978 and 1988) is that no information was available concerning treatment for cholesterol or diabetes. This information has been available in our database only since 1992. Therefore, we were able to evaluate the percentage of treated subjects among those who had a standard health checkup at the IPC Center during 1992. Among subjects with hypercholesterolemia, it was observed that 11.2% of the younger subjects and 29.2% of the older subjects were treated. For diabetes, the percentage of treated subjects was 22.4% and 32.6% in younger and older subjects, respectively (unpublished data from the IPC Center, 19921998). However, we do not believe that this can explain the decrease in the role of ARFs in older subjects. If that were the case, a decrease in the role of hypertension should also have been observed in older subjects. Actually, among older subjects, the proportion of hypertensive subjects who were treated was almost 3 times as high as the proportion of younger hypertensive subjects who were treated. Thus, the difference of the effect of ARFs between the 2 age groups could not be entirely explained by the difference in treatment.
Clinical Implications and Conclusions
The recent recommendations for the management of
hypertensive subjects suggest that BP levels and ARFs should be
considered for risk stratification and therapeutic efficacy. Our
results show that this approach is more adapted to younger subjects
than to older ones. In younger hypertensive subjects, evaluation of CVD
risk and therapeutic strategies should target associated risk factors.
In older subjects, the presence of high BP levels seems to be the major
determinant of CVD
risk.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
Received September 19, 2000; first decision November 7, 2000; accepted November 14, 2000.
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