Erythrocyte Indices and Long-Term Blood Pressure Variability in Military Males

Severe microcytic anemia has been associated with BP changes.

Whether the erythrocyte indices are associated with long-term BPV is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association of hemoglobin levels and erythrocyte size with long-term blood pressure variability (BPV) in young males.

This study included 1,112 healthy military males, averaging 32 years of age, in Taiwan. All participants took a measurement of systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) every two-year from 2012 to 2018 (2012-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-18). Levels of hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of erythrocytes were obtained at the first visit. Long-term BPV was assessed by the standard deviation (SD) and average real variability (ARV). Multivariate linear regression analysis with adjustment for the baseline BP levels and other covariates was used to elucidate the association.

Hemoglobin levels were borderline positively correlated with SD DBP (β and standard errors = 0.016 (0.009), P =0.06). In those with hemoglobin levels of 10.0-13.9 g/dL, hemoglobin was negatively correlated with SDSBP (β= -0.039 (0.018), P =0.03). In contrast, MCV levels were borderline positively correlated with SDSBP (β =0.085 (0.052), P =0.09). In those with MCV levels <80 fL, MCV was positively correlated with SDSBP and ARVSBP (β= 0.445 (0.210) and 0.286 (0.149), p = 0.03 and 0.05, respectively).

There were inconsistent patterns for the associations of erythrocyte indices with longterm BPV. We found a U-shaped relationship of hemoglobin levels with systolic BPV, whereas there was a positive linear relationship of hemoglobin and MCV levels with diastolic BPV, respectively.