Researchers Discover Link between High Blood Pressure and Nocturia

A clinical site coordinator for NAPA Research, Naval Parikh, MD, has been practicing medicine for upward of 10 years. Concurrent with his role at NAPA Research, Dr. Naval Parikh sees patients as an internist in the offices of SortinoMD, where he manages and treats a range of issues, including high blood pressure.

At the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society in March, researchers revealed a link between high blood pressure and nocturia, a condition that causes frequent urination at night. The study involved blood pressure measurements and self-reported bathroom visits from 3,749 people. Those who had blood pressure of at least 140/90 mmHg were considered hypertensive; meanwhile, nocturia was characterized as one or more bathroom visits per night.

The researchers found that people with nocturia were 40 percent more likely to be hypertensive. They also found that the more often people went to the bathroom each night, the greater their risk of hypertension. 

However, researchers did note that the current study was limited by such factors as ethnicity, genetic background, lifestyle, and salt intake. Specific attention was drawn to the fact that only Japanese adults were analyzed in the study. Japanese adults have a higher likelihood of being salt sensitive, so their blood pressure increases more than some other ethnicities when they consume salt.

Despite these limitations, researchers suggest that individuals with nocturia have their doctors pay special attention to their salt intake and blood pressure. They hope to complete more research into the connection between the two conditions in the future.