Hem 7130

The volunteers were asked to abstain from taking alcoholic beverages, caffeine or CNS stimulating substances for at least 48 hr, and refrain from exercise for at least 24 hr before the tests. They should have had neither food nor water for at least 4 hr, and abstained form diuretics for at least 7 days, and they also were asked to empty their bladder at least 30 min before the tests (Pereira et al., 2018 (link)). All of the subjects had their blood pressure (BP) recorded in the sitting position by using a cuff BP machine (HEM-7130, Omron Healthcare Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan). Bioelectrical impedance analysis (HBF 375, Omron Healthcare Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan) was used to measure body composition (i.e., fat-free mass, body and visceral fat percentages) in a room with controlled temperature. Their hands and feet were cleaned before standing on a platform throughout the test with their arms raised and elbows extended straight out (Oshima et al., 2010 ).

The participants’ BP was measured using an automated device (OMRON HEM-7130) after they rested for ≥5 min in a sitting position. The right cuff size was selected based on the participant’s mid-arm circumference (small (arm circumference <23 cm), standard (23 to <33 cm) and large (≥33 cm)). Weight, height and waist circumference (WC) were also measured for each participant following the WHO protocol. WC was defined as ‘desirable’ (men <90 cm; women <80 cm), ‘high’ (men 90 to <102 cm; women 80 to <88 cm) and ‘very high’ (men ≥102 cm; women ≥88 cm) according to the WHO definition.30 Central obesity was defined as WC ≥102 cm in men and WC ≥88 cm in women.31 (link) Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as $\frac{\text{Weight(kg)}}{{\text{[Height}\left(\text{m}\right)\text{]}}^{\text{2}}}$ , and categorized using Asian-specific thresholds of ‘underweight and normal’ (BMI<23 kg/m²), ‘overweight’ (23–<27.5 kg/m²) and ‘obese’ (≥27.5 kg/m²) according to the WHO definition.32 (link) Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was calculated as $\frac{\text{WC(cm)}}{\text{Height(cm)}}$ . The history of CVD and stroke were obtained from the baseline interview. Lastly, the lipid profile consisting of serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglycerides was measured for each participant.

Medical history and medications used were obtained by interviewing. Body weight, percentage of body fat, and percentage of visceral fat were measured using a body composition monitor (Omron Karada Scan Body Composition Monitor HBF-214, Japan). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as body weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Waist circumference was measured at the approximate midpoint between the lower margin of the last rib and the top of the iliac crest and hip circumference was measured at the widest point of the buttocks in the standing position.21 Blood pressure and heart rate were measured twice using an automatic brachial sphygmomanometer (HEM-7130, Omron, Japan). The participants were seated and relaxed for 5 minutes before the measurement. Blood tests were performed after a 12-hour fast including the lipid profile, creatinine, fasting blood sugar, and HbA1c. Estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated from creatinine using the CKD-EPI creatinine equation. The blood test was performed according to the manufacturer’s protocols (Human Diagnostics Worldwide, Germany).