LIFESTYLE: Spouses in heterosexual relationships may have high blood pressure that mirrors one another, finds multinational study…

By WSAM Health Correspondent

DALLAS — If one spouse or partner in a heterosexual couple has high blood pressure, the other partner often does too. This is according to the new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Wednesday.

Speaking on the surprise findings, University of Michigan (US) senior researcher Dr Chihua Li says: “Many people know that high blood pressure is common in middle-aged and older adults, yet we were surprised to find that among many older couples, both husband and wife had high blood pressure in the US, England, China and India. For instance, in the US, among more than 35% of couples who were ages 50 or older, both had high blood pressure.”

Researchers investigated whether heterosexual partners in the US, England, China and India mirrored each other’s high blood-pressure status. Previous studies have explored the union of high blood pressure and other diseases among couples in a single country setting or used small regional samples.

Co-researcher Dr Jithin Sam Varghese, assistant professor at the Emory Global Diabetes Research Centre at Emory University in Atlanta. “Ours is the first study examining the union of high blood pressure within couples from both high- and middle-income countries. We wanted to find out if many married couples who often have the same interests, living environment, lifestyle habits and health outcomes may also share high blood pressure.”

The researchers analysed blood pressure measures for 3 989 US couples, 1 086 English couples, 6 514 Chinese couples and 22 389 Indian couples, and found:

• The prevalence between both spouses or par ners having high blood pressure was about 47% in England; 38% in the US; 21% in China and 20% in India.
• Compared to wives married to husbands without high blood pressure, wives whose husbands had high blood pressure were 9% more likely to have high blood pressure in the US and England, 19% more likely in India and 26% more likely in China.
• Within each country, similar associations were observed for husbands. The association was consistent when the analyses were stratified by area of residence within each country, household wealth, length of marriage, age groups and education levels.

“High blood pressure is more common in the US and England than in China and India, however, the association between couples’ blood pressure status was stronger in China and India than in the US and England. One reason might be cultural. In China and India, there’s a strong belief in sticking together as a family, so couples might influence each other’s health more,” said study co-researcher Dr Peiyi Lu, a post-doctoral fellow in epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

“In collectivist societies in China and India, couples are expected to depend and support each other, emotionally and instrumentally, so health may be more closely entwined.” These findings highlight the potential of using couple-based approaches for high blood pressure diagnosis and management, such as couple-based screening, skills training or joint participation in programmes, Li noted.

Reacting to the findings, West Virginia University’s Dr Bethany Barone Gibbs said these findings were important because hypertension is among the most dominant modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and remained highly prevalent and poorly controlled on an increasingly global level.

“As the authors (of the study) point out, the current focus of clinical and public health strategies to control hypertension on the individual level is not adequate. The authors suggest that interventions that target spouses may, thus, be especially effective,” said Gibbs.

“Following this idea, making lifestyle changes, such as being more active, reducing stress or eating a healthier diet, can all reduce blood pressure; however, these changes may be difficult to achieve and, more importantly, sustain if your spouse or partner (and greater family unit) are not making changes with you,” she said.

“These findings also hint at a broader approach —interventions using a socioecological model considering determinants of hypertension across individual, interpersonal, environmental and policy levels are likely going to be necessary to reduce the global public health burden of hypertension.”

According to the American Heart Association’s 2023 statistics, in 2020, nearly 120 000 deaths were primarily attributable to high blood pressure, and from 2017 to 2020, 122.4 million (46.7%) US adults had high blood pressure. An estimated 1.28 billion adults aged 30–79 years worldwide have hypertension, most (two-thirds) living in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 statistics

An estimated 46% of adults with hypertension were unaware that they have the condition, while less than half of adults (42%) with high blood pressure were diagnosed and treated.

How to Prevent ‘Wine Teeth’ During Festive Season

TANNINS:  A dental expert offers advice for healthy white teeth during the holiday season – and beyond…

ByPatti Zielinski

Why do some people’s teeth stain after drinking red wine, and how can you prevent it during the holidays?

The answer is the relationship between the nature of wine and your tooth enamel, said Uchenna Akosa, a dentist who heads Rutgers Health University Dental Associates in New Brunswick, the faculty practice of Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

“When you drink red wine, you’re encountering a triple threat to your teeth’s whiteness: anthocyanins, which are the pigments in grapes that give red wine its rich color; tannins, which help bind the pigment to your teeth; and the acidity found in wine, which etches your enamel, making it more porous and it easier for the stain to stick,” she said. “The strength of your enamel and how prone you are to plaque build-up is key to how much your teeth might stain.”

Akosa added: “Of course, wine is not the only culprit. Anything that can stain a shirt can stain your teeth, such as black coffee, black tea, berries, balsamic vinegar, chocolates, sweets and smoking. Drinks like soda and juices harm the enamel and make teeth more susceptible to stains.”

Here are Akosa’s tips for preventing wine teeth:

Brush before, but not immediately after, drinking: Since plaque can make it look like your teeth are stained, you should brush your teeth 30 minutes before drinking, but not right after since toothpaste can cause more etching. Don’t drink white wine before red wine:  The extra acid in the white wine will exacerbate the staining.

Drink water while drinking wine: Swishing your mouth with water, which is neither basic or acidic, after drinking wine helps to reduce the wine’s acidity and stimulates saliva flow, which is critical in fighting harmful bacteria and maintaining the ideal pH in your mouth. Chewing food is equally important because it also stimulates saliva. Cheese is ideal to pair with wine as it both stimulates saliva and reduces the acidity from the wine.

Brush your teeth correctly and get regular dental cleanings to keep your enamel strong: Cleanings can help remove plaque, which is a bacterial soft coating on teeth. If not cleaned, it can result in cavities.

When brushing teeth, use a soft toothbrush; if you have gum problems, use an extra-soft brush. Place the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums – not straight – and gently brush back and forth in short strokes. You should brush the outside, inside and chewing surfaces. People often do not brush the chewing surface or the inner surfaces.

Before bed, use a water flosser or dental floss to remove particles. Although every toothpaste on the market has five basic ingredients — fluoride, glycerin, sorbitol, calcium carbonate and sodium lauryl sulphate — not all whitening toothpastes are good for your teeth.

Be careful of products that contain ingredients that are not good for long-term use, such as charcoal or sodium bicarbonate, which is baking soda. Rather, look for natural ingredients such as organic coconut oil, activated charcoal or lemon oil for whitening.