Comparison of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and office blood pressure in primary health care of populations at a high risk of hypertension.

Introduction: Current studies have found that the incidence of masked hypertension is high in Asian countries, but the use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in Asian countries is very limited, especially in primary health care. We compared the ABPM and office blood pressure (OBP) in primary health care of a high-risk population of hypertension. Methods: The study included participants with at least one risk factor for hypertension who received primary health care. Demographic data, present medical history, personal history, and family history were collected by questionnaire. Results: A total of 823 subjects were included in the study. There were 531 (64.5%) subjects with hypertension by ABPM and 316 patients (38.4%) by OBP. A paired chi-square test showed that the positive rate of ABPM in the diagnosis of hypertension was significantly higher than that of OBP (chi-square value 174.129, Conclusions: Although OBP and ABPM have some consistency, ABPM can screen for masked hypertension and nocturnal hypertension in primary care of populations at high risk of hypertension. Therefore, ABPM is necessary in the primary health care of populations at high risk of hypertension and can be used as a routine screening.