Coexistence of PM_2.5 and low temperature is associated with morning hypertension in hypertensives

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that concentration of PM_2.5 is associated with home BP level. We analyzed home BP data for 91 consecutive days in 40 hypertensives. PM_2.5 solely was not correlated with home BP levels, but low temperature was associated with a 1.6-fold increased likelihood of morning hypertension (p < 0.001) under the condition of high PM_2.5 concentration. In addition, coexistence of low temperature and high PM_2.5 was associated with a 2.3-fold increased likelihood of morning hypertension (p < 0.001) compared with high temperature and low PM_2.5 condition. Environmental and meteorological factors could be important causes of enhanced home BP elevation.

• Air pollution
• home BP
• fine particulate matter with a diameter <2.5 µm
• morning hypertension
• temperature

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. The first author (Y. I.) and the second author (K. E.) equally contributed to the writing process.

Supplementary material available online

Supplementary Figures 1 and 2