Prevalence and associated factors of inter-arm blood pressure difference in Chinese community hypertensive population

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of inter-arm blood pressure difference (IAD) in Chinese community hypertensive population.

The cross-sectional study included 7788 hypertensive patients (3673 male and 4115 female, aged 62.3 ± 13.6 years) in Guangdong, China. IAD was defined as the absolute value of blood pressure (BP) difference between left and right arms. Bilateral BP was measured simultaneously by automated devices.

The mean IAD was 4.04 ± 4.33 mm Hg in systolic and 3.19 ± 3.43 mm Hg in diastolic. The prevalence rates of systolic IAD (sIAD)≥5 mm Hg and ≥10 mmHg were 28.9% (n = 2247) and 12.8% (n = 996), respectively. By univariate linear regression, higher sIAD correlated with aging, higher SBP, higher DBP, lower baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and anti-hypertensive medication (p < 0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, higher sIAD was significantly associated with systolic BP (SBP, β = 0.033; 95%CI, 0.025–0.041; p < 0.001), triacylglycerol (β = 0.093; 95%CI, 0.017–0.169; p = 0.016), total cholesterol (β = −0.202; 95%CI, −0.396to −0.009; p = 0.04), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; β = 0.304; 95%CI, 0.027–0.582; p = 0.032).

The elevated prevalence of large IAD was shown in hypertensive population. Meanwhile, higher levels of SBP, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and lower eGFR were associated with higher sIAD.