Association between four-limb blood pressure differences and arterial stiffness: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Figure 1. The flow diagram of study participants.

Table 1. Comparison of the general characteristics of the two groups

Characteristics	All (n = 12,176)	IAD <10 mmHg (n = 10,344)	IAD ≥10 mmHg (n = 1832)	P Value	IAND <10 mmHg (n = 7628)	IAND ≥10 mmHg (n = 4548)	P Value
Male sex, %	61%(7443)	60%(6238)	66%(1205)	0.000	60%(4550)	64%(2893)	0.000
Age, years	68.31 ± 15.58	68.32 ± 15.59	67.26 ± 15.48	0.881	67.07 ± 15.53	70.40 ± 15.43	0.000
BMI, kg/m^2	24.05 ± 3.18	23.85 ± 3.06	25.20 ± 3.57	0.000	23.94 ± 3.11	24.23 ± 3.30	0.000
Pulse rate, per min	73.58 ± 12.21	73.29 ± 12.04	75.22 ± 13.03	0.000	73.17 ± 11.87	74.27 ± 12.74	0.000
Left arm SBP, mmHg	132 ± 19†	131 ± 19	138 ± 21	0.000	131 ± 18	135 ± 20**	0.000
Left arm DBP, mmHg	76 ± 13‡	75 ± 12	78 ± 14	0.000	75 ± 12	76 ± 13**	0.082
Right arm SBP, mmHg	131 ± 19	131 ± 19	137 ± 22	0.000	130 ± 19	134 ± 20**	0.000
Right arm DBP, mmHg	75 ± 13	75 ± 13	77 ± 14	0.000	75 ± 13	75 ± 13**	0.770
Left ankle SBP, mmHg	149 ± 27‡	148 ± 27	153 ± 28	0.000	148 ± 25	150 ± 30**	0.019
Left ankle DBP, mmHg	74 ± 13	74 ± 13	76 ± 14	0.000	75 ± 13	74 ± 15**	0.204
Right ankle SBP, mmHg	151 ± 27	150 ± 27	155 ± 28	0.000	149 ± 25	153 ± 31*	0.000
Right ankle DBP, mmHg	74 ± 14	74 ± 14	76 ± 14	0.000	74 ± 13	74 ± 15**	0.987
ABI	1.07 ± 0.13	1.08 ± 0.13	1.02 ± 0.14	0.000	1.10 ± 0.10	1.03 ± 0.16	0.000
baPWV, cm/s	1890 ± 490	1881 ± 487	1943 ± 508	0.036	1850 ± 476	1955 ± 509	0.000
Hypertension, %	67%(8209)	66%(6796)	77%(1413)	0.000	54%(4167)	57%(2597)	0.008
Diabetes mellitus, %	14%(1751)	14%(1467)	16%(284)	0.138	13%(1016)	16%(735)	0.000
Hyperlipemia, %	15%(1875)	16%(1627)	14%(248)	0.017	15%(1172)	15%(703)	0.891

*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01 vs. the group of IAD ≥10 mmHg. †P < 0.05; ‡P < 0.01; §P < 0.001 vs. the right side.

BMI, body mass index; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ABI, ankle-brachial index; baPWV, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.

Values are mean ± SD or numbers of subjects (%).

Figure 2. The Frequency distribution data of inter-arm and inter-ankle systolic blood pressure differences. A positive value means that the blood pressure on the left is higher than that on the right, and a negative value means that the blood pressure on the right is higher than that on the left.

Table 2. Blood pressure difference between the bilateral limbs

Inter-arm blood pressure difference	N	(N/All)%
≥ 5 mmHg	5411	44%
≥ 10 mmHg	1832	15%
≥ 15 mmHg	663	5%
≥ 20 mmHg	291	2%
Inter-ankle blood pressure difference	N	(N/All)%
≥ 5 mmHg	7924	65%**
≥ 10 mmHg	4548	37%**
≥ 15 mmHg	2706	22%**
≥ 20 mmHg	1706	14%**

All = 12,176; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01 vs. the group of IAD.

Table 3. Relationship between IAD increasing (≥10 mmHg) and other cardiovascular disease risk factors by multivariate logistic regression model

	B	Wald	OR (95%CI)	P Value
Age	0.162	18.804	1.176(1.093–1.265)	0.000
Sex (male as reference)	0.255	21.008	1.290(1.157–1.439)	0.000
BMI	0.451	142.470	1.569(1.457–1.690)	0.000
Pulse rate	0.283	49.686	1.327(1.226–1.435)	0.000
baPWV	−0.260	26.681	0.771(0.699–0.851)	0.000
SBP	0.629	438.703	1.876(1.769–1.990)	0.000
ABI	0.407	38.448	1.502(1.321–1.709)	0.000

Variables in the equation include age, sex, BMI, Pulse rate, baPWV, SBP, ABI.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.

Table 4. Relationship between IAND increasing (≥10 mmHg) and other cardiovascular disease risk factors by multivariate logistic regression model

	B	Wald	OR (95%CI)	P Value
Age	0.167	35.344	1.181(1.118–1.248)	0.000
Sex (male as reference)	0.090	5.012	1.094(1.011–1.183)	0.025
BMI	0.162	30.812	1.176(1.111–1.245)	0.000
Pulse rate	0.072	5.785	1.075(1.013–1.139)	0.016
baPWV	0.111	8.994	1.117(1.039–1.201)	0.003
SBP	0.178	61.633	1.195(1.143–1.250)	0.000
ABI	1.121	339.867	3.067(2.723–3.456)	0.000

Variables in the equation include age, sex, BMI, Pulse rate, baPWV, SBP, ABI.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.