Associations between handgrip strength and hypertension in relation to circulating CD34-positive cell levels among Japanese older men: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: A positive association between handgrip strength and blood pressure has been reported. Since these factors are linked to the condition of the endothelium, the activity of endothelial repair might influence the association between handgrip strength and hypertension. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 257 Japanese men aged 60–69 years who underwent an annual health checkup. As individuals with high level of circulating CD34-positive cells might show active endothelial repair, which plays an important role in vascular homeostasis, participants were stratified by circulating CD34-positive cell levels, using the median value of this population (0.96 cells/μL) as the cutoff. RESULTS: Independent of known cardiovascular risk factors, for participants with a high CD34-positive cell, handgrip strength is significantly positively associated with hypertension (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of hypertension for 1 standard deviation increment of handgrip strength were 1.85 (1.19, 2.88) but not for participants with a low CD34-positive cell (0.91 (0.61, 1.37)). CONCLUSION: The positive association between handgrip strength and hypertension is limited to high CD34-positive cells. This result may help clarify the role of vascular homeostasis in maintaining muscle strength.