Blood Pressure Patterns and Hepatosteatosis: Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment in Dipper and Non-Dipper Phenotypes

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Hepatology
• Metabolic Disorders

Background:

• Non-dipper hypertension (HT) signifies inadequate nocturnal blood pressure dipping, increasing cardiovascular and organ damage risks.
• Understanding associations between blood pressure patterns, hepatosteatosis, and metabolic markers is vital for hypertensive and normotensive individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between dipper/non-dipper blood pressure patterns, hepatosteatosis, and biochemical markers.
• To compare these factors in both hypertensive and normotensive patient groups.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective and cross-sectional analysis of 142 patients' demographic, biochemical, and hepatic ultrasonography data.
• 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) categorized patients into four groups: non-dipper normotensive (NDN), dipper normotensive (DN), non-dipper hypertensive (NDH), and dipper hypertensive (DH).

Main Results:

• Non-dipper hypertensive (NDH) individuals exhibited significantly higher levels of hepatosteatosis and uric acid compared to dipper hypertensive (DH) and normotensive groups (p < 0.001).
• Hepatosteatosis grade demonstrated strong discriminatory power (AUC 0.861) for identifying non-dipper hypertensive patients.
• Hypertensive individuals with a non-dipper pattern showed a higher prevalence of hepatosteatosis and elevated uric acid.

Conclusions:

• Non-dipper blood pressure patterns are associated with a heightened risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
• Effective management of non-dipper hypertension requires monitoring and treatment of both blood pressure and co-existing metabolic disorders like hepatosteatosis.