The Effect of Pulse Pressure on All-Cause and Cardiovascular-Specific Mortality Risks in US Adults

To examine the effect of pulse pressure on all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality risks and whether this effect varies with sex and race/ethnicity among adults who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and were followed to December 31, 2006.

Cohort/Longitudinal.

United States.

All-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality.

Hazard rates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality associated with the pulse pressure quartiles (Q) were estimated through Cox proportional regression before and after controlling for selected characteristics.

Relative to adults with pulse pressure in the first quartile, death rate for all-cause mortality was 29% (95% CL: 1.03, 1.62) and 54% (95% CI: 1.22, 1.95) higher in adults with pulse pressures in Q3 and Q4, respectively, after adjustment for all study covariates. These associations were further observed in Whites and Mexican Americans only. For cardiovascular-specific mortality, the adjusted death rates for Q3 and Q4 were 57% (95% CI: 1.00, 2.44) and 76% (95% Cl: 1.16, 2.67).

Our findings suggest that pulse pressure could be associated with all-cause and CVD-specific mortality risk among US adults.