Health Investigation in Takashima : The Fourth Report of Medical Examination

Three hundred and fifty-nine subjects, 103 males and 256 females living in a small island, Takashima, were investigated in the same fashion as previous studies. They were mainly in their sixties and one fifth of them were housewives and nonworkers. Two third of them were normotensive and one fourth being hypertensives according to WHO criteria. Blood pressure (BP) increased with age both in males and females. In female subjects, systolic and diastolic BP positively correlated with blood glucose, total cholesterol, sodium, creatinine concentration, urinary sodium-potassium ratio and sodium-creatinine ratio. Systolic BP showed also positive correlation with serum uric acid, r-glutamyl transferrase (r-GTP), calcium concentration. Abnormalities of sugar, lipids, electrolytes metabolism, renal and hepatic function, found in the subjects studied previously were also the case with relatively elderly subjects. Blood pressure negatively correlated with body height and 24 hour urinary sodium excretion estimated by Kawasaki\u27s formula. It seemed to be due to decrease of physical statue and dietary intakes with aging. BP positively correlated with pulse rate, suggesting that hypertensives at older ages involve enhanced sympathetic nervous activity comparing to normotensives at the same generation. These results indicate that factors affecting blood pressure strongly correlated daily habits as well as aging process. Further education concerning daily habits, such as diets, exercise, and so on, will be necessary to prevent hypertensive complications, and also to promote their healthy lives