In a previous study, researchers found that using the toilet at night several times is a sign of high blood pressure.
The health condition is called nocturia, in which people wake up during the night because they have to urinate.
This condition is linked to elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in the body.
The research was conducted by a team of Japanese researchers.
Previous research has reported that high salt intake is linked to nocturia.
Compared to western countries, people in Japan eat more salt, and their blood pressure rises more when salt is consumed.
Taken together, these two factors mean that people in Japan are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure.
In the new study, the team examined the link between nocturia and high blood pressure in the general Japanese population.
They tested 3,749 residents of Watari who had an annual health check in 2017.
Participants with blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher or prescribed antihypertensive drugs were considered to have high blood pressure.
The team found nocturia was strongly linked to high blood pressure. The risk of high blood pressure rose strongly as the number of nocturia events per night increased.
And the more visits to the toilet, the greater the risk of high blood pressure.
The team says the link may be influenced by various factors including lifestyle, salt intake, ethnicity, and genetic background.
People need to know that nocturia is not only caused by urinary organ problems but also by systemic diseases such as high blood pressure.
If people continue to have nocturia, they need to ask their doctors to check their blood pressure and salt intake.
One author of the study is Dr. Satoshi Konno, of the Division of Hypertension, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Japan.
The study was presented at the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society.
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