Trends in Systolic Blood Pressure in the Thousand Aviator Cohort over a Twenty-four-Year Period

A cohort of 1,056 normotensive, healthy, young men initially examined in 1940 at the mean age of 24 years was followed at three periodic intervals through 1964. The cohort demonstrated little rise in mean systolic blood pressure beyond age 35; a portion of this cohort showed no change of systolic blood pressure with age. If the men are classified by quintile according to systolic blood pressure in 1940, those men in the upper quintile tend to remain high; when classified by quintile in 1951, those men at the extremes maintained their relative position through 1964. Predictive utility of a systolic blood pressure may be a function of its actual level as well as the age of the individual. Two factors further influenced the systolic blood pressure of this cohort, namely, parental longevity and gain in weight. The significant effect of parental longevity became less important relative to gain in weight as time progressed and after 1940 affected primarily those men who had gained weight.