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Background: Heavy occupational lifting is prevalent in the general working population and is sparsely reported to associate with hypertension, especially among older and hypertensive workers. We investigated if heavy occupational lifting is associated with hypertension and blood pressure (BP) in both cross-sectional and prospective study designs in the Copenhagen General Population Study, stratified by age, and use of anti-hypertensives., Methods: Participation was conducted following the declaration of Helsinki and approved by the ethical committee (H-KF-01-144/01). By multivariable logistic and linear regression models, we investigated the association between heavy occupational lifting and hypertension, in a cross-sectional design (n = 67,363), using anti-hypertensives or BP ≥140/≥90 mmHg as outcome, and in a prospective design (n = 7020) with an above-median change in systolic BP (SBP) from baseline to follow-up and/or a shift from no use to use of anti-hypertensives as outcome, with and without stratification by age and use of anti-hypertensives., Results: The odds ratio for hypertension was estimated at 0.97 (99% CI: 0.93-1.00) in the cross-sectional analysis, and at 1.08 (99% CI: 0.98-1.19) in the prospective analysis. The difference in SBP among workers with versus without heavy occupational lifting was estimated at - 0.29 mmHg (99% CI -0.82 - 0.25) in the cross-sectional and at 1.02 mmHg (99% CI -0.41 - 2.45) in the prospective analysis. No significant interaction between heavy occupational lifting and age, nor use of anti-hypertensives were shown., Conclusions: Only the prospective analysis indicated heavy occupational lifting to increase the risk of hypertension. Further research on the association between occupational lifting and hypertension are needed.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate cross-sectional and prospective associations between heavy occupational lifting and hypertension. Methods Data from the third, fourth and fifth examinations of the Copenhagen City Heart Study were included. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to adjust for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, education, self-rated cardiorespiratory fitness, vital exhaustion and baseline blood pressure, and were used to estimate (i) the cross-sectional association between heavy occupational lifting and hypertension, defined as using anti-hypertensives or having a systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg, and (ii) the prospective association between heavy occupational lifting and risk of becoming a systolic blood pressure case, defined as an above median change (from baseline to follow-up) and/or a shift from no use of anti-hypertensives at baseline to use of anti-hypertensives at a ten-year follow-up. Results Both cross-sectional [odds ratio (OR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94-1.20] and prospective (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.92-1.31) analysis indicated no relations. Explorative prospective analyses suggested linear associations between heavy occupational lifting and systolic blood pressure among participants using anti-hypertensives. Exposure to heavy occupational lifting tended to increase the incidence of hypertension (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.97-1.73) among participants ≥50 years. Conclusions No associations were seen among the general population. Positive associations were seen among users of anti-hypertensives and participants ≥50 years, indicating these groups as vulnerable to increases in blood pressure when exposed to occupational lifting.

OBJECTIVE. The mechanisms by which overweight and physical inactivity lead to hypertension are complex. Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, has been linked with hypertension. We wanted to investigate the relationship between leptin, physical activity and new-onset hypertension. METHODS. The study was a prospective cohort study of 744 women and 367 men, who were normotensive in the third Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) examination, performed 1991−94. Based on questionnaire items, the participants were divided into two groups with low (n = 674) and high (n = 437) levels of leisure-time physical activity, respectively. RESULTS. Between the third and the fourth CCHS examination, performed 2001?03, 304 had developed hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg or use of antihypertensive medication. In a logistic regression model, including age, sex, body mass index, SBP, DBP, level of physical activity and leptin, we found a significant interaction between leptin and level of physical activity with new-onset hypertension as outcome variable (p = 0.012). When we entered the interaction variables, effect of leptin with low level of physical activity and with high level of physical activity, respectively, in the original model, leptin predicted new-onset hypertension in participants with low level of physical activity [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.16 (1.01−1.33) for one unit increase in log-transformed leptin levels, p = 0.038], but not in participants with high level of physical activity [0.88 (0.74−1.05), p = 0.15]. CONCLUSION. We found that leptin predicted new-onset hypertension but only in participants with low level of physical activity.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate developments in 30 years mortality risk that may be associated with developments in population systolic blood pressure (SBP) and to evaluate possible secular trends in BP-associated mortality risk in the untreated population., Design: The Copenhagen City Heart Study is a prospective longitudinal epidemiological study. The present analysis comprised participants from survey 1 (1976-78) and 3 (1991-94)., Methods: BP measurements and other methods were fully standardized and unchanged throughout the observation period. Questionnaires were completed by the participants and double checked by the technicians while they were interviewing the participants., Results: 18 077 persons participated. Age, systolic BP, diastolic BP, cholesterol, BMI, diabetes, gender and habitual physical activity were significant predictors of all-cause death in all age groups. Risk factor adjusted risk for all-cause death was significantly lower in survey 3 compared with survey 1. Among elderly people, there was no development in mortality risk. In the age groups 40-49 years and 50-59 years there were survey differences indicating a significant trend towards longer life expectancy compared with their age-matched counterparts in survey 1. The association between BP and mortality remained unchanged., Conclusion: A declining risk of all-cause death was observed in the younger and middle-aged cohorts of the population. The decrease in systolic BP and decline in mortality risk in the same age groups points to a role of systolic BP in age-cohort differentiated improvements of life expectancy. The effect of systolic BP on mortality did not change during follow-up.

Background: Leptin and adiponectin are hormones secreted by adipose tissue, and both hormones are candidate intermediaries between adipose tissue and overweight-related diseases. So far, no prospective study has been published where the independent effects of these two hormones on the development of hypertension have been directly compared. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between plasma levels of leptin and adiponectin and new-onset hypertension in the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS)., Methods: In a prospective study design, we examined new-onset hypertension in 620 women and 300 men who were normotensive in the third CCHS examination, which was performed in 1991-1994., Results: Between the third and the fourth CCHS examination, which was performed in 2001-2003, 254 had developed hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) > or = 140 mm Hg, or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > or = 90 mm Hg, or use of antihypertensive medication. Using logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fibrinogen, and glucose, and with leptin and adiponectin included in the same model, leptin was significantly associated with new-onset hypertension with an odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.28 (1.08-1.53; P < 0.005) for 1 s.d. higher level of log-transformed leptin, whereas adiponectin was not significantly associated with new-onset hypertension having an odds ratio of 1.02 (0.84-1.24; P = 0.83) for 1 s.d. higher level of log-transformed adiponectin., Conclusions: In the CCHS, leptin, but not adiponectin, was a significant independent predictor of new-onset hypertension.

Background: Low-grade chronic inflammation has been proposed to play a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Low-grade chronic inflammation is also closely associated with obesity, an established causative factor in the development of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between two markers of inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, and blood pressure (BP) and other hemodynamic variables in obese subjects., Methods: From a large cardiovascular study based in the general population, we selected subjects with a body mass index (BMI) > or =30 kg/m2, free of major cardiovascular diseases, not taking BP-lowering or lipid-lowering drugs (n = 487; women = 51.1%; median (5th to 95th percentile) age = 62 years (36-80)). The cardiovascular study included measurements of traditional and new risk factors, including ankle brachial BP index, a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis. CRP was determined by a high-sensitive assay., Results: In partial Spearman rank correlation analysis, adjusted for age and sex, we found no significant relationships between either CRP or fibrinogen and systolic BP, diastolic BP, pulse pressure, or ankle brachial index (rho: -0.057 to 0.068; P > 0.13). However, fibrinogen and CRP were found to be significantly related to heart rate (rho: 0.127-0.169; P < 0.01)., Conclusions: In this study of generally healthy obese subjects from the general population, we found no significant relationships between markers of inflammation and systolic BP or diastolic BP, showing that obese subjects with higher levels of inflammatory markers do not have higher BP levels than their obese counterparts with lower levels of inflammatory markers.