MedWire News: Having uncontrolled high blood pressure increases older people's risk of disability, US researchers report.

Roughly 65% of older Americans have high blood pressure. "The incidence of high blood pressure is increasing in women in particular," said lead study investigator Dr Ihab Hajjar from Harvard Medical School/Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr Hajjar and team assessed data from 999 men and women, aged an average of 66 years, who participated in a major heart study conducted between 1960 and 2001.

The study participants were divided into groups based on whether or not they had high blood pressure and if it was controlled with medication. The researchers also assessed the participants' physical abilities, such as their upper and lower body strength, motor skills, physical mobility, and ability to perform daily activities.

The results, which appear in the journal Hypertension, showed that people with high blood pressure had an increased risk of developing functional disability. A greater increase in systolic blood pressure, which reflects the pressure as the heart contracts, was associated with greater declines in physical ability.

Additionally, people with high blood pressure but without disability had a 15% to 36% increased risk of developing a new disability over time. The greatest risk was seen in people whose blood pressure was not adequately controlled by medication, and in women.

"Older adults with uncontrolled high blood pressure are at a particularly increased risk for disability," conclude the researchers.

Dr Hajjar added: "It's important to counsel both young and old patients with high blood pressure about their risks."