The Association Between Short-Term Blood Pressure Variability and Inflammation in Healthy Young Adults

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Inflammation Biology
• Public Health

Background:

• Blood pressure variability (BPV) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and inflammation in adults.
• The role of BPV in young, healthy populations is not well understood.
• Early identification of cardiovascular risk factors in youth is crucial for long-term health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between short-term BPV and systemic inflammatory markers in young, normotensive adults.
• To determine if BPV predicts subclinical inflammation in a healthy cohort.
• To explore potential early cardiovascular risk indicators in young individuals.

Main Methods:

• 447 normotensive participants (mean age 22.9 years) from the Georgia Stress and Heart (GSH) study underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
• Serum levels of inflammatory markers including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were assessed.
• Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) analyzed associations between BPV (quantified by average real variability) and inflammatory markers, adjusting for covariates.

Main Results:

• Diastolic BPV, but not systolic BPV, showed significant positive associations with hs-CRP and TNF-α.
• Both 24-hour and nighttime diastolic BPV were positively associated with hs-CRP and TNF-α.
• Daytime diastolic BPV was also positively associated with hs-CRP.
• No significant associations were observed between BPV and IL-6 or IFN-γ.

Conclusions:

• Diastolic blood pressure variability may serve as a marker for low-grade systemic inflammation in healthy young adults.
• Elevated diastolic BPV could represent an early, subclinical cardiovascular risk factor.
• Further longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the predictive value of diastolic BPV in young populations.