Abstract
This article introduce results of the first meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies performed to investigate the effect of physical activity (PA) on hypertension risk. Thirteen prospective cohort studies were identified, including 136 846 persons who were initially free of hypertension, and 15 607 persons developed hypertension during follow-up.
The pooled relative risk (RR) of main results from these studies suggests that both high and moderate levels of recreational PA were associated with decreased risk of hypertension. The association of high or moderate occupational PA with decreased hypertension risk was not significant.
No publication bias was observed. The results of this meta-analysis suggested that there was an inverse dose-response association between levels of recreational PA and risk of hypertension, whereas there was no significant association between occupational PA and hypertension.