Older People Can Reduce Risk of Hypertension By Doing Voluntary Work

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have found that voluntary work by older adults can reduce their risk of hypertension as well as high blood pressure by 40 percent.

Researchers of a new study have found that voluntary work is not only good for society but also for a person's health, especially if that person is an older adult. Authors of the study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University found that voluntary work by older adults can reduce their risk of hypertension as well as high blood pressure by 40 percent. They suggest that volunteer work could be a non-medical cure for hypertension or high blood pressure.

Rodlescia S. Sneed, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology in CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and lead author of the study, stated in a press release that this study was conducted in connection to previous studies which stated that poor diets and poor lifestyles can increase the risk of hypertension. This study was conducted to analyze whether a positive lifestyle like indulging in volunteer work can reduce the risk of this disorder.

The research was conducted on 1,164 adults aged between 51 and 91 from across the United States. All participants underwent two interviews, one in the year 2006 and the other in the year 2010. At the time of the first interview, all participants recorded normal blood pressure. Along with blood pressure, volunteerism and various social and psychological factors were also measured on both occasions.

Researchers found that participants who indulged in at least 200 hours of volunteer work in the four years between the two interviews were less likely to develop high blood pressure than participants who didn't indulge in any kind of volunteerism. Researchers noted that the type of work didn't matter but the duration was an important factor to consider.

Hypertension affects an estimated 65 million Americans and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.