Winter morning surge in blood pressure after the Great East Japan Earthquake

This study investigated the association between winter morning surge in systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) as measured by ambulatory BP monitoring and the housing conditions of subjects in an area damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2013, 2 years after disaster, hypertensives who lived in homes that they had purchased before the disaster (n = 299, 74.6 ± 8.1 years) showed significant winter morning surge in SBP (+5.0 ± 20.8 mmHg, P  <   0.001), while those who lived in temporary housing (n = 113, 76.2 ± 7.6 years) did not. When we divided the winter morning surge in SBP into quintiles, the factors of age ≥75 years and occupant‐owned housing were significant determinants for the highest quintile (≥20 mmHg) after adjustment for covariates. The hypertensives aged ≥75 years who lived in their own homes showed a significant risk for the highest quintile (odds ratio 5.21, 95% confidence interval 1.49‐18.22, P  =   0.010). It is thus crucial to prepare suitable housing conditions for elderly hypertensives following a disaster.