Blood pressure levels in the Netherlands during the war.

DURING the years of occupation, 1940 to 1945, the weight of many inhabitants of the Netherlands decreased as noted both in the clinics1and among the general population.2At the same time, there was a fall in blood pressure to levels far below those regarded as normal. However, before one can judge whether or not these levels were actually low, it is necessary to investigate the standards that are applied in the determination of normal blood pressure. The literature abounds in information on normal values for blood pressure. Until twenty or thirty years ago, many authors accepted a maximum blood pressure of 150 to 160 mm. of mercury as normal, stating that the most frequently prevailing systolic range was 130 to 140 mm.3These reports did not tend to fix a definite limit but drew attention to the variability of a normal blood pressure and the