Within-visit and between-visit intra-individual blood pressure variability in an unselected adult population from rural China

Objective: To assess the association between the variability of blood pressure (BP) readings within an initial clinic visit, the variability within subsequent visits and the variability between visits over 1 week in a general population. Methods: This study included 1401 adult residents, who were not taking antihypertensive drugs, having BP measurements at three visits over 1 week. The difference between maximal and minimal BP readings (ΔBP), ΔBP/BPm (the mean BP value in a visit), the standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (coefficient of variation = SD × 100/mean) of three BP values in each visit were used to estimate the within-visit BP variability (BPV). The SD and coefficient of variation of all nine BP readings over the three visits were calculated as SD9 or CV9 to reflect the overall BPV during the study visits. The SD and coefficient of variation on the mean BP values (BPm) of three visits were computed as SD-3 or CV-3, whereas the difference between maximal and minimal BP in three visits was computed as ΔBP-3 to estimate visit-to-visit BPV. The average BP or HR was the mean values of nine BP or HR readings over three visits. Results: The systolic and diastolic mean BP (SBP and DBP) decreased from the first to the third visit. The ΔBP, SD and coefficient of variation for both SBP and DBP at the first visit were positively and significantly correlated with the corresponding variables computed at the second and third visits, as well as with overall BPV (ΔBP9, SD9 and CV9). A positive correlation was also found between overall BPV and visit-to visit BPV (SD-3, CV-3 and ΔBP9). Multivariate analysis showed: no association between average SBP and systolic coefficient of variation or ΔBP/BPm but a negative association between average DBP and coefficient of variation or ΔBP/BPm for DBP at the first visit, DBP-3 and DBP9. Age was positively correlated with coefficient of variation or ΔBP/BPm for SBP at the first visit, SBP-3 and SBP9, and correlated with coefficient of variation and ΔBP/BPm for DBP only at the first visit. Conclusion: In a general population, within-visit BPV at an initial visit is associated with within-visit BPV at subsequent visits and with visit-to-visit BPV over three visits within 1 week.