title: Association between lung function, hypertension and blood pressure medication.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies showed an association between lung function and hypertension. However, it must be considered that antihypertensive treatment might have an effect on lung function, too. So far, this potential effect of antihypertensive medication on lung function has been investigated mainly in patients with already existing pulmonary diseases. Thus, the aim of this analysis was to determine whether hypertension and its medical treatment are associated with lung function impairment in a general adult population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Within the cross-sectional study ECRHS-I Erfurt 1158 adults aged between 20 and 65 years performed lung function tests and blood pressure measurements. Additionally, information on anthropometric measurements, sociodemographic characteristics and medical history was available. Multivariate regression models were applied to study the association between lung function, blood pressure and antihypertensive treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The combination of high blood pressure and the use of antihypertensive medication had the strongest negative effect on lung function. Thus, it was associated with a deterioration in FEV(1) of -150 ml (p=0.01) and in FVC of -190 ml (p<0.01). When using both high blood pressure and antihypertensive medication as individual variables in one regression model, only medication decreased FEV(1) and FVC significantly (each p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We speculate that high blood pressure in combination with antihypertensive treatment and not HBP itself might be associated with reduced lung function in a general adult population. Nevertheless, it must be considered that antihypertensive medication might just be an indicator for very high blood pressure.
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany. schnabel@helmholtz-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schnabel
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brasche
authors.forename: H-Erich
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Wichmann
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinrich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents