Postprandial hypotension in neurological disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

Postprandial hypotension (PPH) has been associated with increased risk of syncope, falls, stroke, angina and mortality. As the majority of patients with PPH are asymptomatic, the diagnosis is often overlooked. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of available scientific evidence on the likelihood of PPH in neurological diseases.

A systematic review of the literature (PubMed library, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for results up to January 2017) identified 327 studies, of which 11 reported the frequency of PPH in patients with neurological diseases compared to healthy controls. These 11 studies were on patients with Parkinson's disease (PD; n = 6 studies), multiple system atrophy (MSA; n = 1), Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 1) and diabetic neuropathy (DN; n = 2).

The meta-analysis revealed that patients with neurological diseases had a significantly higher frequency of PPH than healthy controls [147/289 patients vs. 41/217 controls; odd ratio (OR) 5.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.90-9.45, p < 0.00001]. For each of the four diseases, the respective patients had a significantly higher frequency of PPH than healthy controls (PD: 107/201 patients vs. 32/136 controls; OR 3.49, 95% CI 2.09-5.83, p < 0.0001; MSA: 19/27 patients vs. 0/24 controls; OR 89.55, 95% CI 2.65-3030.33, p = 0.01; AD: 7/10 patients vs. 6/23 controls; OR 6.61, 95% CI 1.28-34.14, p = 0.02; DN: 14/51 patients vs. 3/34 controls; OR 4.83, 95%CI 1.20-19.41, p = 0.03).

The likelihood of having PPH is higher in patients with neurological diseases than in healthy controls. These findings should prompt further research focusing on the epidemiology and pathophysiology of PPH in different neurological diseases.