title: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and target organ damage: effects of age and sex.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of age and sex in the ambulatory blood pressure measurements, and target organ damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1596 patients (50.6% male and 49.4% female), aged 10-87 years, referred to our Hypertension Center for borderline hypertension, underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, left ventricular echocardiography and measurement of intima-media thickness of carotid arteries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescent girls had higher mean 24-h and clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressure values than adolescent boys. Men aged 20-60 years had higher mean 24-h and clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressure values than women of the same age. Men older than 60 years had higher mean 24-h systolic and diastolic blood pressure values than women of the same age, but women older than 60 years had higher clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressure values. White-coat effect increased with age in both sexes, but the magnitude of the white-coat effect was higher in women than in men at older ages. Men had higher left ventricular mass corrected for body surface area or height than women in all ages and significantly higher differences in ages between 30 and 80 years. In addition, men had greater carotid intima-media thickness than women in all ages and significantly higher differences in ages between 30 and 80 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Men have greater ambulatory blood pressure values and target organ damage than women of the same age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodestrial University, Athens, Greece. bkotsis@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Vasilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kotsis
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stabouli
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pitiriga
authors.forename: Savvas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Toumanidis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papamichael
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zakopoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors