Hypertension accelerates bone aging

Hypertension and osteoporosis are both common diseases. Many sufferers suffer from both diseases at the same time. / Hypertension accelerates bone aging

A recent study revealed a possible link between the diseases. The inflammation associated with high blood pressure seems to make the bones porous.

At a meeting of the American Heart Association in San Diego (USA), the latest research was presented which suggests a link between high blood pressure and accelerated aging of the bones.

Increased risk of osteoporosis after stroke

As early as 2019, a study found that patients who survived a stroke have an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures compared to healthy people. In the current work, this connection was examined in more detail.

High blood pressure appears to promote osteoporosis / Hypertension bone aging

According to the researchers, mice suffering from high blood pressure are more likely to develop osteoporosis-like bone damage, which is otherwise only observed in mice of advanced age.

“The bone marrow is where both new bone and new immune cells are made,” explains study lead author Elizabeth Maria Hennen of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

“If we understand how high blood pressure contributes to osteoporosis, we may be able to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and better protect people from fractures and a reduced quality of life later in life,” emphasizes Hennen.

Bone health in relation to blood pressure

As part of the study, the working group compared the bone health of different groups of mice that either suffered from high blood pressure or had normal blood pressure. The animals’ bones were analyzed using micro-computed tomography, an advanced imaging technique.

With high blood pressure, the bones were less stable

It was found that young mice with high blood pressure had a significant reduction in bone volume by 24 percent compared to mice of the same age without high blood pressure.

In addition, the scientists documented an 18 percent reduction in bone thickness at the end of long bones such as the femur. From this, the team calculated that the risk of fractures in animals with high blood pressure increases by 34 percent.

Prematurely aged bones in early hypertension

Bone damage from hypertension in the young animals was comparable to normal signs of aging in middle-aged mice.

“In these mice, high blood pressure at a younger age essentially aged the bones as if they were 15 to 25 human years older,” confirms Hennen.

More inflammatory markers in the bone marrow

In order to get to the bottom of the causes of the reduced bone density in high blood pressure, the team analyzed the bone marrow of the animals using flow cytometry. This procedure makes it possible to examine individual cells and filter out specific immune cells.

The researchers were able to determine an increase in inflammatory markers in the bone marrow in the young mice with high blood pressure, but also in the older mice.

“This increase in active immune cells tells us that the older mice are more inflamed overall and that a persistent inflammatory state, regardless of whether they had hypertension or not, can have an impact on bone health,” concludes Hennen.

According to the research group, this indicates that the high blood pressure in the young animals steered the bone remodeling process towards bone loss rather than towards bone formation.

Do people with hypertension have an increased risk of osteoporosis?

“In humans, this could mean that we should screen for osteoporosis in people with high blood pressure,” the study author concludes. However, since the results are based on animal experiments, it would first have to be checked whether the findings can be transferred to humans.

How many calories are burned with 30 minutes of cycling?

Hypertension bone aging…