isolation is a hypertension risk —especially for women
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social isolation is truly hard on the heart, especially if you’re a woman who is middle-aged or older, according to a new study from the university of british columbia.
published in the journal of hypertension in october, researchers found that women with few social ties were much more likely to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, which can lead to a host of health issues such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and eye problems.
interestingly, the same cannot be said for men.
“among older adults, social isolation is the largest known risk factor for mortality, equal only to smoking,” said principal investigator annalijn conklin. “less well known is how social isolation affects men and women differently, or how it affects biomarkers of longevity. our research indicates that women, in particular, are more likely to be hypertensive when they experience isolation in middle and older age.”
researchers combed through data on 28,238 canadian adults aged 45 to 85, looking at factors such as blood pressure, living arrangements and social activities. women who had a smaller social network (fewer than 85 contacts) or engaged in fewer than three social activities a month and didn’t have a partner, had much higher odds of hypertension. the largest difference between systolic blood pressure rates was between widowed and married women.
living alone didn’t seem to have as dramatic an effect on the blood pressure of men who lived solo. the researchers found that men who had the largest social networks, shared a home with others or were single had the highest blood pressure. meanwhile, those who lived alone and had smaller networks tended towards lower blood pressure.
the study concluded that “healthcare professionals may need to consider these social factors in addressing risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease prevention.”
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according to a recent report from statistics canada, about 1 in 4 adults between the ages of 20 to 79 had hypertenstion during the period of 2012 to 2015. hypertension rates climbed with age, with 71 per cent of men and 69 per cent of women in the 70 to 79 demographic having high blood pressure.
the heart and stroke foundation of canada says women’s experiences with heart disease in the healthcare system is “under-diagnosed and under-treated” and their recovery is also “under-supported.”
to learn more about heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, check out these resources from the heart and stroke foundation.
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