Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Health in College Students and Campus Faculty/Staff
Abstract
Previous research indicates that cardiovascular (CV) disease mortality has decreased in populations ages 55-74, but has not for younger groups, suggesting a need for research in CV health in younger adults. We compared CV health measures between relatively healthy young (college students) and middle-aged (faculty/staff) adults who were matched for body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) dipping status. Measures of CV health, including: VO2max, clinical BP, ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), BMI, and fasted plasma glucose/cholesterol were measured in students (n=10, 20.2±0.6 yrs) and faculty/staff (n=9, 44.8±8.3 yrs) of a small college campus. There was no difference in VO2max, glucose,/cholesterol, or clinical BP measures between the groups, but there were differences in diastolic 24 hr ABP, diastolic daytime ABP, and diastolic nighttime ABP (p<0.05 for all). In students, we found no relationships between ABP and CV health variables. However, in faculty/staff, there was a relationship between 24 hr systolic ABP and daytime systolic ABP with glucose, HDL, and triglycerides (p<0.05 for all). Our results indicate that, although there are no differences in BP dipping status, BMI, and clinical BP measures between the groups, there is a relationship between glucose, HDL, and triglycerides with ABP in only the faculty/staff adult group. This suggests that other measures, not examined in this study, may differ between the two groups.
Department
Kinesiology
Publication Date
4-2015
Journal Title
The FASEB Journal
Publisher
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Lenzo JM, Cromwell CM, Oakman JE, Aichele KR, Neal MP, Perez AN, Thiele KA, Santaniello EL, Bye NL, Hill JA, Evans RC, Wisdo TR, Chavis LN, Getty AK, Louth VC, Feairheller DL. Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Health in College Students and Campus Faculty/Staff. FASEB. 29:1. Supp. 2015