Factors Associated with Blood Pressure Variability Based on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Subjects with Hypertension in China

Background/Aims: We examined the factors associated with blood pressure variability in a multi-ethnicity prospective study in China to gain more evidence to guide the prevention and management of hypertension through risk factor intervention. Methods: A total of 318 consecutive adult subjects aged 29-94 years with suspected or known hypertension were enrolled in this study. Blood pressure variability measurements were based on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. To measure short-term reading-to-reading blood pressure variability in this study, we used the standard deviation(SD) of the blood pressure to estimate the blood pressure variability. Results: The SDs of the blood pressure in this study ranged from 5.425 to 32.25, with a median of 10.81 (quartile range, 8.90–12.46). No significant difference regarding the level distribution of blood pressure variability was found across the various ethnicities. Spearman correlation analyses indicated that the SD of blood pressure was positively correlated with DSBP ( r =0.302, p =<0.001), NSBP ( r =0.383, p =<0.001), NDBP ( r =0.230, p =<0.001), and FBG ( r =0.129, p =0.023) and was negatively correlated with triglyceride ( r =-0.289, p =<0.001), CR ( r =-0.242, p =<0.001), HDL-C ( r =-0.230, p =<0.001), LDL-C ( r =-0.186, p =0.001), and apolipoprotein B levels ( r =-0.157, p =0.006). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that triglycerides ( β =-0.217, p =<0.001), NSBP ( β =0.174, p =0.003), FBG ( β =0.128, p =0.024), DDBP ( β =-0.128, p =0.022), and apolipoprotein A ( β =-0.116, p =0.036) were significantly and independently associated with the blood pressure variability. Conclusions: In this study, blood pressure variability was significantly associated with not only blood pressure levels but also patient demographic, clinical and biochemical characteristics.