title: Does reactivity testing in the laboratory reflect blood pressure changes elsewhere?
abstract: This study examines whether reactivity testing in a laboratory setting might identify individuals whose blood pressure (BP) fluctuates excessively outside of the laboratory. Eighty-eight normotensive and untreated hypertensive patients were studied. Patients' BPs were obtained repeatedly on two separate screening occasions. They were subsequently admitted to a research ward, and 4 days later their BPs were measured at resting baseline and in response to a series of stressful tasks. Blood pressure declined by 14/11 mm Hg +/- 1.2/1.1 mm Hg (SE) from screening to the in-patient resting baseline. The four stressful tasks all led to increases in BP over the in-patient resting baseline level. Individuals with increased amounts of task-induced reactivity in the laboratory were also more likely to be those whose BP declined the most from out-patient screening to hospitalized baseline. The average correlation between the drop in BP associated with hospitalization and the BP reactivity to each stressor task was r = 0.33 for systolic BP (p < 0.01) and r = 0.24 for diastolic BP (p < 0.05). Reactivity responses in a laboratory setting may convey information about blood pressure fluctuation in the real world.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0804.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dimsdale
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dillon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications