Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in young adults with different levels of office blood pressure

Objective of our study was to assess the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in young people with different office blood pressure (BP). Design and methods . We included 981 students of a medical university at the age of 20–29 years (536 men, 445 women). ABPM was performed using the device “Kardiotekhnika 4000” (Inkart, Russia), the data were processed using the program “KT Result2” (Inkart, Russia). Results . The optimal BP during office measurement was recorded in 220 patients (22,4 %, group 1), normal — in 488 (49,8 %, group 2), high normal — in 134 (13,6 %, group 3), hypertension (HTN) 139 (14,2 %, group 4). The proportion of males was significantly higher in groups 3 and 4 (96,6 % and 85,6 %) compared with groups 1 and 2 (47,7 % and 40,2 %, respectively, p < 0,001). The median systolic BP (SBP) was 123 (110; 126) mm Hg, diastolic BP (DBP) — 85 (84; 87) mm Hg. According to the ABPM, the parameters of SBP and DBP correlated with the corresponding office BP parameters. A strong direct correlation was found for both SBP (r s = 0,87) and DBP (r s = 0,85). Daytime variability of SBP was significantly higher in individuals with high normal BP and HTN (15,9 ± 2,6 and 17,2 ± 4,2 mm Hg) compared to groups 1 and 2 (9,2 ± 4,4 and 9,9 ± 3,0, respectively, p < 0,05). The majority of young people had normal BP decrease at night (dipper), non-dipper profile was also frequent. Over-dipper and night-peaker profiles were rarely recorded. In the groups 3 and 4, a larger number of non-dipper patients were observed compared with groups 1 and 2 (23,9 % and 34,6 %, compared with 10,0 % and 11,1 %, respectively, p < 0,001). The prevalence of white-coat hypertension (WCH) among the young people was 0,31 % (95 % CI 0,06–0,75 %), among subjects with office HTN 2,2 % (95 % CI 0,4–5,3 %). The prevalence of masked hypertension (MHTN) in the studied population was 1,4 % (95 % CI 0,8–2,3 %), among normotensive subjects — 1,7 % (95 % CI 0,9–2,6 %), among subjects with high normal BP — 10,4 % (95 % CI 5,8–16,2 %). Conclusions . ABPM in young hypertensive patients is characterized by higher variability of daytime SBP. The majority (56,1 %)of HTN subjects had normal BP decrease at night. The prevalence of WCH among young people is 0,31 % (95 % CI 0,06–0,75 %). The prevalence of MHTN among young people is 1,4 % (95 % CI 0,8–2,3 %).