[Relationship between leisure-time physical activity and blood pressure in adults].
BACKGROUND
high blood pressure (BP) is found at epidemic levels in adults of industrialized societies, thereby favoring an increase in the risk of development of numerous cardiovascular pathologies.


OBJECTIVE
to investigate the relationship between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and high systolic blood pressure (SBP)/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in adults, in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia.


METHODS
a cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 2,292 adults of both sexes, aged > 20 years. Those who engaged in physical activity during their leisure time were considered to be active in their free time. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds ratio (OR), with confidence interval of 95%.


RESULTS
after the adjustment for age and stratification by sex, the relationships between LTPA and SBP/DBP were: SBP = 0.86 (0.85 to 0.87) for females and 0.65 (0.64 to 0.66) for males; DBP = 0.94 (0.92 to 0.95) for females and 0.64 (0.63 to 0.65) for males.


CONCLUSIONS
the results of this study are important to public health and they must be used to raise awareness of the relevance of LTPA to prevent high levels of SBP/DBP.
Pitanga
Francisco José Gondim
FJ
Departamento de Educação Física, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Salvador, BA, Brasil. franciscojose@cardio.br
Lessa
Ines
I
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007899:Leisure Activities; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult