The long-term follow-up of more than 16,000 women shows that high levels of cholesterol are associated with the development of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, researchers report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"These preliminary data suggest that knowledge of (fat) levels in middle-aged and older women may improve our ability to identify those at greater risk for developing hypertension over time," lead investigator Dr. Howard R. Sesso stated.

Sesso of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston and colleagues note that there appears to be an association between fat levels in the blood and the risk of hypertension. However, there have been few definitive studies of the matter.

To investigate, the team followed 16,130 women who were at least 45 years of age in 1992. None had a history of high cholesterol or elevated blood pressure and many had healthy cholesterol levels at the beginning of the study.

After about 11 years of follow-up, 4,593 of the women had developed hypertension.

Compared with those with the lowest total cholesterol levels at the start of the study, those with the highest levels were 12 percent more likely to develop hypertension. For women with the highest LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) levels, the risk increased by 11 percent, while those with the highest HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels, the risk decreased by 19 percent.

The researchers suggest that these findings may be important for use in cholesterol screening to identify women with a higher risk of developing hypertension.

However, Sesso added that while cholesterol levels may be associated with the risk of developing hypertension in women, "it remains unclear to what extent other related risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and diet may account for our findings."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, November 14, 2005.

Reference Source 89
November 23, 2005