Circadian Blood Pressure Variability in Normo and Hypertensive Diabetic Patients

Diabetic patients have a higher prevalence of non-dipping pattern in blood pressure (BP) than general population. Non-dipping arterial pressure pattern is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of the diabetic patients with circadian BP variability. This cross-sectional study included 114 diabetic patients (more than 18 years old) recruited by consecutive sampling. The patients were divided into two groups according to the results of systolic blood pressure dipping from day to night. Mean age was 58.3±9.6 years; and 63% of the study population was male. Also, 80.7%, 78.1%, and 78.9% of the patients had non-dipper patterns in systolic, diastolic, and mean BP respectively. The dipping pattern did not have any significant association with baseline or clinical characteristics of the patients (p>0.05). The characteristics of the patients do not assist finding diabetic persons who are more likely to have non-dipping arterial pressure pattern. As such, ABPM is an essential tool for proper risk stratification in diabetic patients.