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Biomedical subjects

R M van der Heide

Publications and source records attributed to R M van der Heide.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Isolated systolic hypertension in Dutch middle aged and all-cause mortality: a 25-year prospective study.

In the early 1950s, the blood pressure of 3901 Dutch civil servants and their spouses aged 40-65 years was measured in a general health survey. Isolated systolic hypertension (systolic pressure greater than 160 mmHg, diastolic pressure less than 90 mmHg) was observed in 6.3% of the women and 3.0% of the men. The prevalence increased with age and it was more common in women in all age groups. Using logistic regression, with adjustment for potential confounders (age, smoking, serum cholesterol, Quetelet index, alcohol consumption, haemoglobin level, pulse rate and diastolic blood pressure) the association of 15- and 25-year total mortality with isolated systolic hypertension was determined. Compared to normotensive people (systolic pressure less than or equal to 135 mmHg, diastolic pressure less than 90 mmHg), the risk of death from all causes was significantly higher for men with isolated systolic hypertension after 15 and 25 years of follow-up (odds ratio OR = 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-4.8 and OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.3-8.0). For women 15-years mortality risk was strongly associated with isolated systolic hypertension (OR = 3.7, 95% CI 1.4-9.7). The increased risk was less pronounced after 25 years of follow-up (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 0.96-3.0). Our results support those of other studies and indicate that isolated systolic hypertension is an important independent risk factor for all-cause mortality. Since isolated systolic hypertension may be an indicator for the early onset of ageing, it is important to study its determinants and to pay more attention to its diagnosis and treatment in middle-aged populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Scoring of prudent dietary habits and its relation to 25-year survival.

To evaluate the effect on longevity of a diet that is concurrent with common dietary guidelines, a simple diet scoring system was developed and applied in a follow-up study of 2,820 middle-aged Dutch civil servants and their spouses. In the early 1950s those civil servants were seen for a health examination that included a dietary survey. Consumption frequency data of the quantitatively most important food items at that time were used for the diet scoring. Overall survival after 25 years was 46.8% among men and 68.6% among women. In men, a significant positive association between prudent diet score and 25-year, age-adjusted survival could be demonstrated. Of the 10 food items that constituted the diet score, a higher intake of brown bread, porridge and/or yogurt, vegetables, fish, and fruit was associated with a slightly better survival. In a separate analysis we had found a significant inverse relationship between coffee consumption and survival. A similar trend, which, however, was not significant, was observed for alcohol intake. In women, the results for the separate food items were inconsistent, and no effect of a prudent diet score on longevity was observed. The proposed diet scoring system provides a means for evaluating the effects of the individual's food choice behavior on subsequent health and longevity.

Diet↗
PubMed1986

Retinopathy as an independent indicator of all-causes mortality.

The association between retinopathy and mortality in hypertensive patients is well established. At the same level of blood pressure the prognosis gets worse with increasing seriousness of retinopathy. To assess the prognostic value of retinopathy for all-causes mortality, we studied the data from a general health survey of 1583 men and 1508 women after 15 and 25 years of follow up. Among the men a clear association was found in the first 15 years. Among the women a weaker association was found only after 25 years of follow-up. This association was independent of hypertension or other cardiovascular risk indicators, such as obesity, serum cholesterol, smoking or proteinuria.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Dietary sodium, calcium, and potassium, and blood pressure.

The cross-sectional association of systolic blood pressure with dietary sodium, calcium, and potassium, as estimated from dietary histories, was investigated by multiple regression analysis of data gathered in the Netherlands in the early 1950s in a general health examination of 2,291 middle-aged civil servants and spouses of civil servants. A statistically significant negative trend with systolic blood pressure was seen for calcium intake in both males and females, even after adjustments for covariates. For sodium and potassium intake, the observed negative trends were not significant after multivariate analyses. In addition, no consistent associations were found between diastolic blood pressure and the micronutrients after multivariate analyses, except for a significant negative association with calcium intake in females. In this study population, blood pressure was a strong independent risk factor of total mortality: 15- and 25-year mortality was about twice as high for hypertensives (greater than or equal to 160 mmHg) as for normotensives (less than 160 mmHg). These findings support the conclusion in recent epidemiologic studies that higher intakes of calcium are associated with lower systolic blood pressure, and they extend the evidence to an earlier time period.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Parental survival, an independent predictor of longevity in middle-aged persons.

In a 25-year follow-up of 2370 middle-aged civil servants and spouses of civil servants, the authors studied the effect of the number of parents (none, one, or both) which a middle-aged person still has alive on this person's survival. Among men, no relationship was found with the number of parents alive after 15 years of follow-up and a weak gradient was found after 25 years. Among women, there was a clear gradient of mortality according to the number of parents alive, both after 15 and after 25 years. In a logistic regression analysis of mortality, after 25 years, the age-adjusted effect of having both parents alive relative to none was significant in men and women (for men: odds ratio = 0.63, 95% confidence interval = 0.42-0.97; for women: odds ratio = 0.36, 95% confidence interval = 0.19-0.69). These estimates did not change materially upon inclusion of other determinants for chronic disease and death into the model (smoking, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and body mass index). The authors concluded that the parental effect was independent of these risk factors.

Adult↗