The association of ambient temperature variability with blood pressure in southern China

Abstract

Objectives Numerous studies have shown a positive relationship between temperature variability and mortality, but few studies have investigated the effect of temperature variability on blood pressure (BP). We aimed to estimate the effect of temperature variability on BP in Guangdong Province, southern China. Methods Data on meteorological factors were obtained from the Guangdong Meteorological Center, and BP was collected from a series of cross-sectional surveys conducted in Guangdong Province, China, from 2004 to 2015. There were 38 088 participants aged 18 years and over. A generalized additive model was used to estimate the association between temperature variability and BP after adjusting for confounding variables. Results Our study found a significant positive association between temperature variability and SBP, and this effect increased with the increment of exposure days in total population. The highest estimate was for temperature variability at 7 days lag (TV0–7) with a 0.497 (95% confidence interval, 0.335–0.660) mmHg rise of SBP for each 1°C increase of TV0–7. The effects of TV0–1 and TV0–2 on SBP were higher for hypertensives than that for normotensives, and in warm season higher than that in cold season. However, we did not observe statistical significance between temperature variability and DBP. Conclusions There was a positive association between temperature variability and SBP in Guangdong Province, which should be considered in clinical management and epidemiological survey of hypertension.