Hobby engagement and hypertension risk: evidence from two large prospective cohorts

Abstract Objective To investigate the association between hobby engagement and the risk of hypertension using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Methods This study included 7,112 participants aged ≥ 50 years from CHARLS and 4,937 participants aged ≥ 50 years from HRS. Hobby engagement was assessed at baseline and at follow-up, and longitudinal changes in hobby engagement were analyzed. The primary outcome was incident hypertension. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were also measured. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for incident hypertension, and changes in SBP and DBP with hobby engagement were examined using linear mixed-effects models. Kaplan-Meier curves and subgroup analyses were performed. Results In baseline analyses, participants with hobby engagement had a significantly lower risk of developing hypertension compared to non-engaged participants in both CHARLS (HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.76,0.93) and HRS (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.78,0.96) after full adjustment. In longitudinal analyses of hobby engagement patterns, persistent hobby engagement had the greatest protective effect in both cohorts compared with persistent hobby non-engagement in CHARLS (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.68,0.88) and HRS (HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.73,0.95), respectively. Hobby engagement was associated with reductions in SBP (-0.52 mmHg per year) and DBP (-0.24 mmHg per year) over time in CHARLS. However, this effect was not observed in HRS. Conclusions Hobby engagement is a significant protective factor against hypertension, with stronger benefits observed among individuals who maintained their hobby engagement over time. These findings support the integration of hobby-based interventions into public health strategies for preventing hypertension in middle-aged and older populations.