Key result
Exercise training significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure in African and Asian populations (P<0.001).
Why the study?
Current exercise recommendations for hypertension are predominantly based on European populations, but blood pressure responses differ among ethnic groups.
Does exercise training reduce blood pressure in healthy adults of African or Asian origin?
Meta-Analysis
Does exercise training reduce blood pressure in healthy adults of African or Asian origin?
Aerobic exercise training effectively reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults of African and Asian origin, supporting its use in hypertension management across diverse ethnic groups.
May support exercise for BP control in these groups; leaves open effects on outcomes and generalizability.
BACKGROUND: Exercise is key in the primary prevention and management of hypertension. Yet, current exercise recommendations are predominantly based on meta-analyses involving populations of European descent. Since blood pressure (BP) responses to pharmaceutical interventions are known to differ among ethnic groups, we aimed to investigate the BP responses to exercise training in non-European descendants. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to systematically summarize the available literature on the efficacy of exercise on BP in healthy adults (age ≥18 years) of African or Asian origin. METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE database for randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effect of exercise training on BP in healthy African and Asian adults with optimal BP, elevated BP or hypertension and published in a peer-reviewed journal up to May 2019. Random effect models were fitted to estimate the effect sizes. RESULTS: < 0.001) reduced systolic and diastolic BP in each ethnic group. Resistance training did not affect the BP of Asian participants with optimal BP. The effect of resistance training in Asians with elevated BP or hypertension and Africans could not be determined due to lack of data. Sub-analyses suggested somewhat larger reductions in systolic BP following aerobic training in hypertensive Africans compared with hypertensive Asians. CONCLUSIONS: We found favorable effects of aerobic exercise training on BP in the African and the Asian populations. However, the overall low number of studies and especially the lack of data on resistance training and combined training in African and Asian populations warrant more research to improve the quality of evidence.
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Bersaoui et al. (2019) conducted a meta-analysis in optimal BP, elevated BP or hypertension. Exercise training was evaluated on blood pressure (p=<0.001). Exercise training significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure in African and Asian populations (P<0.001).
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