Body composition in hypertensive elderly and middle-aged patients.
The occurrence of hypertension, leading to various life-threatening complications in the elderly is a widely recognized problem. The changes of body composition were determined in 120 control and untreated hypertensive subjects of various ages. In middle-aged hypertensive males, the total blood volume and plasma volume increased significantly compared to those of the healthy controls, while this increase was not significant in the case of hypertensive middle-aged females. In contrast, in the elderly hypertensive male subjects, the volume of all fluid components decreased, except the total body fat and the vascular volumes. There was a slight, statistically non-significant, increase in all the vascular volumes except in the red cell mass. The elderly hypertensive females showed the same tendency compared to the healthy controls of the same age. The vascular compartments seem to be decreased in elderly males, compared to those of the middle-aged males, while slightly increased in elderly females.
1st Department of Medicine, University Medical School of Debrecen, Hungary.
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Fülöp
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Kurta
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Varga
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Wórum
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Csongor
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Leövey
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001810:Blood Volume / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001825:Body Fluid Compartments / Q000502:physiology; D004911:Erythrocyte Volume; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010953:Plasma Volume / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors