Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T06:38:20.097Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effects of drinks made from simple sugars on blood pressure in healthy older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

R. Visvanathan*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Aged and Extended Care Service, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide South Australia, Australia Spencer Gulf Rural Health School, Department of General Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
R. Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
M. Garcia
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
M. Horowitz
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
I. Chapman
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Renuka Visvanathan, Aged and Extended Care Service, Level 5B, Department of medicine, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, fax +61 08 82233870, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The objective of the research was to determine the blood pressure (BP) lowering effects in older people of 50 g carbohydrate drinks with varying carbohydrate content using a randomised, cross-over study with ten (six females) healthy older subjects (mean age 72·20 (sem 1·50) years). BP, heart rate and glucometer-derived blood glucose levels were determined at baseline and following the ingestion of equal volumes (300 ml) of water and carbohydrate drinks with varying nutrient content (glucose, sucrose and fructose). A significant decline in BP over the first 60 min was seen following glucose (systolic BP (SBP) P<0·01, diastolic BP (DBP) P<0·01, mean arterial BP (MAP) P=0·03) and sucrose (SBP P<0·01, DBP P<0·01, MAP P<0·01) ingestion, although the decrease occurred earlier after glucose than sucrose ingestion (SBP 7·33 (sem 2·19) v. 21·00 (sem 4·30) min (P=0·03) and MAP 11·22 (sem 3·10) v. 17·00 (sem 3·78) min (P=0·03)). BP increased after water ingestion (SBP P=0·04, DBP P=0·18, MAP P=0·02) but did not change after fructose ingestion (SBP P=0·36, DBP P=0·81, MAP P=0·34). Post hoc analyses revealed that the BP (SBP, DBP and MAP) decrease following glucose and sucrose ingestion were similar but significantly greater than following fructose or water ingestion. Sucrose, which is used widely (table sugar), reduces BP as much as glucose. In contrast to this, fructose ingestion causes no change in BP. Further studies are required to determine if the substitution of glucose or sucrose with fructose may be beneficial in the medical management of older people with severe symptomatic postprandial hypotension.

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Aronow, WS & Ahn, C (1994) Postprandial hypotension in 499 elderly persons in a long-term health care facility. J Am Geriatr Soc 42, 930932.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ewing, DJ & Clarke, BF (1982) Diagnosis and management of diabetic autonomic neuropathy. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 285, 916918.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grodzicki, T, Rajzer, M, Fagard, R, O'Brien, ET, Thijs, L, Clement, D, Davidson, C, Palatini, P, Parati, G, Kocemba, J & Staessen, JA (1998) Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and postprandial hypotension in elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension. Systolic Hypertension in Europe (SYST-EUR) Trial Investigators. J Hum Hypertens 12, 161165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heseltine, D, Dakkak, M, Macdonald, IA, Bloom, SR & Potter, JF (1991) Effects of carbohydrate type on postprandial blood pressure, neuroendocrine and gastrointestinal hormone changes in the elderly. Clin Auton Res 1, 219224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, RW & Lipsitz, LA (1995) Postprandial hypotension: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical management. Ann Intern Med 122, 286295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, RW, Peeters, TL, Van Lier, HJ & Hoefnagels, WH (1990) The effect of oral glucose, protein, fat and water loading on blood pressure and the gastrointestinal peptides VIP and somatostatin in hypertensive elderly subjects. Eur J Clin Invest 20, 192198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, RW, Penterman, BJ, van Lier, HJ & Hoefnagels, WH (1987) Blood pressure reduction after oral glucose loading and its relation to age, blood pressure and insulin. Am J Cardiol 60, 10871091.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, KL, MacIntosh, C, Su, YC, Wells, F, Chapman, IM, Tonkin, A & Horowitz, M (2001) Guar gum reduces postprandial hypotension in older people. J Am Geriatr Soc 49, 162167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuipers, HM, Jansen, RW, Peeters, TL & Hoefnagels, WH (1991) The influence of food temperature on postprandial blood pressure reduction and its relation to substance-P in healthy elderly subjects. J Am Geriatr Soc 39, 181184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Couteur, DG, Fisher, AA, Davis, MW & McLean, AJ (2003) Postprandial systolic blood pressure responses of older people in residential care: association with risk of falling. Gerontology 49, 260264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lu, CC, Diedrich, A, Tung, CS, Paranjape, SY, Harris, PA, Byrne, DW, Jordan, J & Robertson, D (2003) Water ingestion as prophylaxis against syncope. Circulation 108, 26602665.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mathias, CJ, da Costa, DF, McIntosh, CM, Fosbraey, P, Bannister, R, Wood, SM, Bloom, SR & Christense, NJ (1989) Differential blood pressure and hormonal effects after glucose and xylose ingestion in chronic autonomic failure. Clin Sci (Lond) 77, 8592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murray, R, Eddy, DE, Bartoli, WP & Paul, GL (1994) Gastric emptying of water and isocaloric carbohydrate solutions consumed at rest. Med Sci Sports Exerc 26, 725732.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piha, SJ (1991) Cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests: normal responses and age-related reference values. Clin Physiol 11, 277290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Puisieux, F, Court, D, Baheu, E, Dipompeo, C, Bulckaen, H & Dewailly, P (2002) Intraindividual reproducibility of postprandial hypotension. Gerontology 48, 315320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, TGPJ (1995) Postprandial and orthostatic cardiovascular changes after acute stroke. Stroke 26, 18111816.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sasaki, E, Goda, K, Nagata, K, Kitaoka, H, Ohsawa, N & Hanafusa, T (2001) Acarbose improved severe postprandial hypotension in a patient with diabetes mellitus. J Diabetes Complications 15, 158161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, NL, Psaty, BM, Rutan, GH, Lumley, T, Yanez, D, Chaves, PH & Kronmal, RA (2003) The association between time since last meal and blood pressure in older adults: the cardiovascular health study. J Am Geriatr Soc 51, 824828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaitkevicius, PV, Esserwein, DM, Maynard, AK, O'Connor, FC & Fleg, JL (1991) Frequency and importance of postprandial blood pressure reduction in elderly nursing-home patients. Ann Intern Med 115, 865870.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Visvanathan, R, Chen, R, Horowitz, M & Chapman, I (2004) Blood pressure responses in healthy older people to 50 g carbohydrate drinks with differing glycaemic effects. Br J Nutr 92, 335340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vloet, LC, Mehagnoul-Schipper, DJ, Hoefnagels, WH & Jansen, RW (2001) The influence of low-, normal-, and high-carbohydrate meals on blood pressure in elderly patients with postprandial hypotension. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 56, M744M748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed