According to a report by CNN, researchers from the Universities of Michigan, Emory, and Columbia examined data collected between 2015 and 2019 from middle-aged and older married couples living in China, the US, India, and the UK.
In the study, 1,086 couples from the UK, 3,989 from the US, 6,514 from China, and 22,389 from India were subjected to 3 separate blood pressure measurements, and the average systolic and diastolic blood pressure of each individual was determined.
In the study, where participants with a systolic blood pressure of 140 or higher, commonly known as the upper blood pressure, and a diastolic blood pressure of 90 or higher, commonly known as the lower blood pressure, were considered to have high blood pressure (hypertension), the focus was on how many of the couples had "concordant hypertension" as husband and wife.
The study found that 47.1% of couples in the UK, 37.9% in the US, 20.8% in China, and 19.8% in India had hypertension together as husband and wife.
The results revealed that approximately half of all hypertension cases in countries with high population density consist of married couples.
Dr. Peiyi Lu, one of the authors of the study, stated that high blood pressure is more common in the US and the UK compared to China and India.
Peiyi noted that the relationship between the blood pressure status of couples is stronger in China and India than in the US and the UK, stating, "One reason for this may be cultural. There is a strong belief in the importance of staying together as a family in China and India, so couples may influence each other's health more."
The results of the study were published in the "Journal of the American Heart Association" journal.
News Source: AA
