Raoping Tu1,2, Yosuke Inoue3, Aki Yazawa4, Xiaoning Hao5, Guoxi Cai1,6, Yueping Li7, Xiuquan Lin8, Fei He9, Taro Yamamoto1. 1. Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. 2. Leading Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. 3. Carolina Population Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. 4. Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan. 5. China National Health and Development Research Center, Beijing, China. 6. Nagasaki Prefectural Institute of Environment and Public Health, Nagasaki, Japan. 7. Department of Health Management, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fujian, China. 8. Department for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Fujian Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fujian, China. 9. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fujian, China.
Abstract
AIM: While previous studies have examined the association between health-related behaviors and hypertension, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role of social participation (i.e. participating in community organizations). The aim of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal association between social participation and hypertension among the middle-aged and older population (aged ≥45 years) in China where the prevalence of hypertension has been increasing rapidly in the past few decades. METHODS: Data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study waves 2011 and 2013. Information was obtained from 5483 participants on blood pressure, social participation and covariates. A sex-stratified Poisson regression model with a robust variance estimator was used to examine the associations. RESULTS: During the period between 2011 and 2013, 20.6% of men and 17.2% of women developed hypertension. A Poisson regression model showed that participating in community organizations once a week or more frequently was inversely associated with the onset of hypertension in women (incidence rate ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.67-0.95, P = 0.012). Among men, no such association was found. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that promoting social participation might help mitigate the disease burden associated with hypertension in China, particularly among women. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1093-1099.
AIM: While previous studies have examined the association between health-related behaviors and hypertension, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role of social participation (i.e. participating in community organizations). The aim of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal association between social participation and hypertension among the middle-aged and older population (aged ≥45 years) in China where the prevalence of hypertension has been increasing rapidly in the past few decades. METHODS: Data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study waves 2011 and 2013. Information was obtained from 5483 participants on blood pressure, social participation and covariates. A sex-stratified Poisson regression model with a robust variance estimator was used to examine the associations. RESULTS: During the period between 2011 and 2013, 20.6% of men and 17.2% of women developed hypertension. A Poisson regression model showed that participating in community organizations once a week or more frequently was inversely associated with the onset of hypertension in women (incidence rate ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.67-0.95, P = 0.012). Among men, no such association was found. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that promoting social participation might help mitigate the disease burden associated with hypertension in China, particularly among women. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1093-1099.