title: Longitudinal and Secular Trends in Blood Pressure Among Women and Men in Birth Cohorts Born Between 1905 and 1977: The Tromsø Study 1979 to 2008.
abstract: High blood pressure is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Previous studies showing a blood pressure decline in recent decades lack data to follow individuals born in different decades from early and middle adulthood to older age. We investigated changes in age-specific blood pressure by repeated measurements in 37973 women and men born 1905 to 1977 (aged 20-89 years) examined ≤5× between 1979 and 2008 in the population-based Tromsø Study. Mixed models were used to estimate time trends. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased from 1979 to 2008 in both genders in the age groups 30 to 89 years. The decrease was similar in the 80th percentile and the 20th percentile of the population blood pressure distribution. The decrease in systolic blood pressure in age group 40 to 49 years was 10.6 mm Hg in women and 4.5 mm Hg in men. Systolic blood pressure increased with age in women and men born 1920 to 1949, whereas a decrease or flattening of curve was observed in the younger birth cohorts. Thus, we found both time periodic and cohort effects, and trends were more pronounced in women than in men. The findings suggest changes in blood pressure in the population rather than an effect of treatment of high-risk individuals.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.). laila.hopstock@uit.no.
authors.forename: Laila Arnesdatter
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hopstock
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Kaare Harald
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bønaa
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Anne Elise
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Eggen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Sameline
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grimsgaard
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Bjarne K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Maja-Lisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Løchen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Ellisiv B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Mathiesen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Njølstad
authors.affiliation: Departments of Community Medicine (L.A.H., K.H.B., A.E.E., S.G., B.K.J., M.-L.L., I.N., T.W.), Health and Care Sciences (L.A.H.), and Clinical Medicine (E.B.M.), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); Department of Heart Disease, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (K.H.B.); and Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway (E.B.M.).
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilsgaard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: antihypertensives; blood pressure; cardiovascular diseases; epidemiology; hypertension; longitudinal studies