Trips to the toilet at night are a sign of high blood pressure, according to results from a Japanese study.
“Our study indicates that if you need to urinate in the night – called nocturia – you may have elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in your body,” said study author Dr Satoshi Konno, of the Tohoku Rosai Hospital in Japan.
“If you continue to have nocturia, ask your doctor to check your blood pressure and salt intake.”
Read: How to reduce overnight toilet trips
The study involved 3749 participants who had an annual health check in 2017. Blood pressure was measured and information on nocturia was obtained by questionnaire.
Participants with blood pressure 140/90 mmHg or higher or prescribed antihypertensive drugs were considered hypertensive.
Nocturia (one or more events per night) was significantly associated with hypertension after controlling for possible issues.
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The risk of hypertension rose significantly as the number of nocturia events per night increased.
“We found that getting up in the night to urinate was linked to a 40 per cent greater chance of having hypertension,” said Dr Konno. “And the more visits to the toilet, the greater the risk of hypertension.”
Of the 1882 participants who answered the questionnaire, 1295 (69 per cent) had nocturia. However, Dr Konno said the results did not prove a causal relationship between nocturia and hypertension.
Read: Wake up call on sleep apnoea
“The relationship may be influenced by various factors including lifestyle, salt intake, ethnicity and genetic background,” he said.
Do you make frequent trips to the toilet at night? Have you had your blood pressure tested? Have you seen a correlation in your own health results? Are you more likely to get your blood pressure tested after reading the result of this study?
Disclaimer: This article contains general information about health issues and is not advice. For health advice, consult your medical practitioner.
