Article
#1_sports-11-00085 MA and HTN PUBLISHED April 2023.pdf
Sports
(2023)
Abstract
Ageing is associated with decreased physical activity, obesity and increased risk of hypertension
(HTN). Master athletes (MA) have either pursued a physically active lifestyle throughout
their life or initiated exercise or sport later in life. We assessed resting blood pressure (BP) in male
and femaleWorld Masters Games (WMG) athletes. This was a cross-sectional, observational study
which utilized an online survey to assess the blood pressure (BP) and other physiological parameters.
Results: a total of 2793 participants were involved in this study. Key findings included differences
between genders with males reporting higher resting SBP (+9.4%, p < 0.001), resting DBP (+5.9%,
p < 0.001) and mean arterial pressure (+6.2%, p < 0.001). Significant differences (p < 0.001) were also
identified when comparing WMG athletes’ resting BP results (genders combined) to the general
Australian population with WMG athletes having a lower SBP (p < 0.001, 8.4%) and DBP (p < 0.001,
-3.6%). Additionally, 19.9% of males and 49.7% of female WMG participants were normotensive
whereas 35.7% of the general Australian population were normotensive. Only 8.1% of the WMG
athletes (genders combined) were found to be HTN compared to 17.2% in the general Australian
population. These findings reflect a low prevalence of HTN in WMG participants and support our
hypothesis of a low prevalence of HTN in an active, but aged cohort of MA.
Keywords
- resting blood pressure,
- veteran athlete,
- exercise,
- risk factors,
- physical activity,
- sports medicine,
- chronic disease,
- health,
- aged
Disciplines
Publication Date
2023
DOI
doi.org/ 10.3390/sports11040085
Citation Information
Mike Climstein, Jack Walsh, Mark DeBeliso, I. Tim Heazlewood, et al.. "#1_sports-11-00085 MA and HTN PUBLISHED April 2023.pdf" Sports Vol. 11 Iss. 4 (2023) p. 1 - 1-16 ISSN: 2075-4663 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael_climstein/186/