Blood pressure in young adults as influenced by diet,anthropometrics, calcium status,and serum lipids

A sample of 197 males and 174 females between the ages of 19 to 35 yr were assessed for blood pressure, health and exercise status, family history of heart disease, use of food supplements, and anthropometrics, Systolic and diastolic pressures were summed and ranked from highest to lowest for each sex. From this sample, a subsample of individual with blood pressure above (elevated blood pressure group; 11 males, 10 females) the 80th and below (low were recalled to assess the relationship of diet, calcium status, blood lipids, and other variables with blood presure. Individuals selected in the elevated blood pressure group were normotensives and matched to the low blood pressure group for age, and smoking and alcohol habits. Calcium status was assessed by use of 3-day diet records, fasting total serum calcium levels, serum ionized calcium lipids (total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides) did not differ (p>0.05) by blood pressure groups for either sex. However, males in the elevated blood pressure group did have greater calcium excretion compared to the males with lower blood pressure (p≤0.01). This relationship was not observed for females. Wt:ht was greater in the elevated blood pressure groups for both sexes (p≤0.01). Most of the subjects in the subsample appeared to have adequate calcium status.