Study Shows Immediate Environment Affects Blood Pressure

Tuesday, December 23, 2008 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: blood pressure, health news, Natural News

(NaturalNews) The neighborhood that a person lives in has a significant effect on their risk of high blood pressure, regardless of income or education, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and published in the journal Epidemiology.

Researchers surveyed 2,612 adults between the ages of 45 and 85 who were involved in a cardiovascular health study. All the participants lived in Forsyth County, N.C., or in Baltimore or New York City. They were interviewed about conditions within a one mile radius of their homes, including how easy was to walk in the neighborhood, the fruit and vegetable selections of nearby markets, how safe they felt, and how friendly and willing to help each other they and their neighbors were.

The researchers found that those living in the most walkable neighborhoods had a roughly 25 percent lower risk of high blood pressure than those in the least walkable neighborhoods. The effects of healthy food availability, safety and social cohesion were similar. These factors were not affected by the education or income of the participants.

When the researchers adjusted for the race of participants, the strength of the connection between neighborhood quality and high blood pressure risk diminished but did not disappear. However, this could merely indicate that non-whites continue to be more likely to live in less healthy neighborhoods, independent of education or income.

Researcher Ana V. Diez said that access to things as simple as sidewalks and healthy food choices at local markets makes it easy for people to make healthier choices in their diet and exercise habits. She also suggested that living in a better neighborhood may reduce people's stress and make it easier for them to relax, thereby lowering their hypertension risk.

"Access to health care and health education are important," she said, "but so are policies that create environments conducive to making healthy choices and reducing stress."

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com.