Association between orthostatic blood pressure dysregulation and geriatric syndromes: a cross-sectional study

Orthostatic blood pressure dysregulation, including orthostatic hypotension (OH) and orthostatic hypertension (OHT), is common in the elderly. The association between OH and, to a lesser extent, OHT with geriatric syndromes is controversial and little investigated. Our objective was to assess the association between orthostatic blood pressure dysregulation and geriatric syndromes in an ambulatory outpatient population.

This observational study included all outpatients for whom a one-visit comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed during a year. OH was defined as a decrease of at least 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or 10 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) after 1 or 3 min of standing. OHT was defined as an increase of more than 20 mmHg in SBP after 1 or 3 min of standing. Comorbidities, drugs regimen, a history of previous falls, nutritional, frailty, functional and cognitive status were compared between patients with OHT or OH and controls (NOR).

Five hundred thirty patients (mean age: 82.9 ± 5.1 years) were included. 19.6% had an OH and 22.3% an OHT. OHT patients were more frequently female, had more diabetes and a lower resting SBP than patients with NOR. OH patients had a higher resting SBP than NOR. After adjusting for age, sex, resting SBP and diabetes, OHT was associated with a low walking speed (OR = 1.332[1.009-1.758]; p = 0.043) and severe cognitive impairment at MMSe score (OR = 1.629[1.070-1.956]; p = 0.016) compared to NOR. Conversely, OH was associated with a lower grip strength (p = 0.016) than NOR.

OHT and OH are common in elderly but associated with different geriatric phenotypes.