Ambulatory blood pressure in 570 Danes aged 19–21 years: the Odense Schoolchild Study

Abstract

Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) measurements were performed in a Danish population of 295 males and 275 females aged 19–21 years. Individualised day and night periods were defined from the subjects own recording of bedtime and rising on the day of their ABP measurements. During these individualised periods the ABP values for daytime, night-time and for the whole 24-h period were measured. The mean ± s.d. values for systolic/diastolic ABP for the whole population were 124 ± 11/70 ± 7 mm Hg in the daytime, 106 ± 12/60 ± 9 mm Hg in the night-time, and 120 ± 11/68 ±7 mm Hg in the whole 24-h period. Males had a mean systolic ABP of 9 mm Hg and mean diastolic ABP of 5 mm Hg higher than females. In males mean ± s.d. systolic/diastolic ABP values in the daytime were 129 ± 10/73 ± 7 mm Hg, in the night-time 111 ± 12/63 ± 8 mm Hg, and in the whole 24-h period 125 ± 10/71 ± 7 mm Hg. The corresponding values in females were 119 ± 10/68 ± 6 mm Hg, 103 ± 11/57 ± 8 mm Hg, and 115 ± 10/66 ± 6 mm Hg, respectively. In conclusion this study provides sex-specific normal values for ABP in a 19 to 21-year-old age group based on individualised daytime and night-time periods.