Key result
A former career as a male elite athlete was associated with a lower age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension in later life compared to matched controls (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.49-0.98).
Why the study?
Does a former career as an elite athlete reduce the risk of hypertension in later life in men?
Cohort (n=3,440)
Does a former career as an elite athlete reduce the risk of hypertension in later life in men?
Odds Ratio: 0.69 (95% CI 0.49–0.98)
A former career as an elite athlete and higher current leisure-time physical activity are associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension in later life.
Does not support practice change; hypothesis-generating and leaves causal effects of elite athletic careers open.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess whether a former career as an elite athlete protects from hypertension in later life. We hypothesized that vigorous physical activity during young adulthood protects against hypertension later in life. METHODS: The study population (n = 3440) consists of 2037 former male elite athletes and 1403 matched controls. Of those, 599 (392 former athletes, 207 controls) participated in a clinical study in 2008. The athletes were divided into three groups: endurance, mixed and power sports. Assessment of hypertension was based on athletes' entitlement to reimbursable antihypertensive medication from the Finnish Social Insurance Institution; among the clinical study participants, this was also based on self-reported current use of antihypertensive drugs or measured hypertension. The current volume of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was determined by questionnaires. RESULTS: Among the participants, the former athletes had lower age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension than the controls [odds ratio (OR) 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49-0.98] and the endurance athletes had the lowest OR (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.80). OR for the prevalence of hypertension decreased (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.84-0.96 per 10 metabolic equivalent hours/week) when there was an increase in the volume of LTPA. The former athletes without blood pressure-lowering medication had significantly lower SBP than the controls [139.2 mmHg (SD 18.7) vs. 144.2 mmHg (SD 19.5)] (P = 0.027). CONCLUSION: A former career as an elite athlete seems to be associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension in later life. The volume of current LTPA was inversely related to prevalence of hypertension.
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Laine et al. (2015) conducted a cohort in Hypertension (n=3,440). Former career as an elite athlete vs. Matched controls (non-athletes) was evaluated on Prevalence of hypertension (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49-0.98). A former career as a male elite athlete was associated with a lower age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension in later life compared to matched controls (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.49-0.98).
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