Hyperinsulinaemia and blood pressure in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama Study.
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between serum insulin and blood pressure, as well as the prevalence of hypertension according to the insulin level in a general Japanese population.


METHODS
In 1988 a cross-sectional community survey was conducted among Hisayama residents aged 40-79 years.


METHODS
A total of 1073 males and 1407 females (72.5 and 80.5% of the total population, respectively) underwent comprehensive investigation, including a 75-g oral glucose-tolerance test. Fasting and 2-h serum insulin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay.


RESULTS
The sum of the fasting and 2-h postloading insulin levels was significantly correlated with the systolic blood pressure (SBP; r = 0.18 and 0.26 for males and females, respectively) and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP; r = 0.24 and 0.19, respectively) in the subjects not receiving antihypertensive drugs. In multiple regression analysis the correlation with blood pressure remained significant in both sexes even after controlling for age, body mass index, alcohol intake, smoking, a family history of hypertension, serum total cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose. The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of hypertension (SBP > or = 160 mmHg or DBP > or = 95 mmHg, or both, or receiving drug treatment) increased significantly with an increase in the sum of fasting and 2-h postload insulin levels in both the non-obese subjects (body mass index < 25 kg/m2) and the obese subjects (body mass index > or = 25 kg/m2). Multiple logistic regression showed that the sum of fasting and 2-h postload insulin levels was a significant factor with an independent relationship to hypertension, even after taking the other risk factors into account.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggests that hyperinsulinaemia is related to hypertension in a general Japanese population.
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
S
S
Ohmori
Y
Y
Kiyohara
I
I
Kato
T
T
Ohmura
H
H
Iwamoto
K
K
Nakayama
K
K
Nomiyama
T
T
Yoshitake
K
K
Ueda
M
M
Fujishima
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D002784:Cholesterol