The correlation between age, blood pressure variability and estimated pulse wave velocity

Abstract

Studies have separately compared the association of age with blood pressure variability (BPV) or pulse wave velocity (PWV). We aimed to establish the association between age and metrics of short-term BPV and PWV in the same sample. 508 under 60 years (< 60) and 141 in their sixties (≥ 60) measured blood pressure (OBP), and PWV using the oscillometric technique (br-PWV). They recorded an ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) to obtain variables for systolic (SBPV) and diastolic BPV (DBPV). We also estimated PWV using formulas. We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and determination coefficient (R2) of all parameters with age. The correlation between age and PWV was very strong (br-PWV; r = 0.901; p < 0.001). It was poor for SBPV, 24-h weighted SD r = 0.492; p < 0.001, and not significant for DBPV, 24-h weighted SD r = 0.220; p < 0.001. The correlation and determination values were generally better in the group comprising ≥ 60-years, with R2 values robust for PWV (br-PWV = 0.812) weaker for SBPV (24-h weighted SD = 0.243) and deemed irrelevant for DBPV (24-h weighted SD = 0.048). Our study shows that PWV metrics are firmly and significantly more influenced by age than short-term BPV.