INCREASED BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) PROMOTES HYPERTENSION AND WORSENS BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL AMONG US VETERANS

Increased body weight is associated with hypertension but the longitudinal association of the two has not been investigated. Data from the VA health care system were accessed between Jan 2000 and Sept 2011. A total of 8,868,500 patients with 241,456,960 blood pressure (BP) readings were included.