Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Letter
  • Published:

Cigarette smoking and ambulatory blood pressure: a case–control study in normotensives

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 22, pages 129–131 (2008)Cite this article

The aim of our study was the evaluation of the effects of cigarette smoking on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in normotensive subjects participating to a cardiovascular prevention program. All subjects were followed up for an average time of 97±42 months to assess the event of hypertension development. Prevalence of hypertension development was higher in smokers even if regression logistic analysis was not able to predict hypertension development.

Cigarette smoking is a powerful risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, but it is not a risk factor for the development of sustained arterial hypertension. Heavy cigarette smoking in experimental conditions is associated with a persistent rise in blood pressure (BP) and also with an increase in BP variability, as documented by ABP monitoring (ABPM),1, 2 but the impact of smoking habit in the eventual development of established hypertension has been shown only in a study on 183 selected Swedish aviators.3 On the other hand, a prospective Japanese epidemiological study4 has demonstrated that the cumulative incidence of hypertension development in smokers is lower than in non- and ex-smokers and is not related to difference in body mass index (BMI). Such conflicting findings can be explained by the fact that clinic BP measurements at study entry and during the follow-up are performed in smoke-free medical facilities. To obtain real-life information on the effects of cigarette smoking on BP in normotensives, it is necessary to measure BP throughout the day by means of ABPM and to follow-up subjects for a long time span.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

References

  1. Groppelli A, Giorgi DM, Omboni S, Parati G, Mancia G . Persistent blood pressure increase induced by heavy smoking. J Hypertens 1992; 10: 495–499.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bolinder G, de Faire U . Ambulatory 24-h blood pressure monitoring in healthy, middle-aged smokeless tobacco users, smokers and nontobacco users. Am J Hypertens 1998; 11: 1153–1163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ekstrand K, Nilsson JA, Lilja B, Bostrom PA, Arborelius Jr M . Markers for development of hypertension in commercial flight aviators. Aviat Space Environ Med 1991; 62: 963–968.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Okubo Y, Suwazono Y, Kobayashi E, Nogawa K . An association between smoking habits and blood pressure in normotensive Japanese men: a 5-year follow-up study. Drug Alcohol Depend 2004; 73: 167–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mann SJ, James GD, Wang RS, Pickering TG . Elevation of ambulatory systolic blood pressure in hypertensive smokers. A case–control study. JAMA 1991; 265: 2226–2228.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. O'Brien E, Mee F, Atkins N, O'Malley K . Accuracy of the SpaceLabs 90207 determined by the British hypertension society protocol. J Hypertens 1991; 9 (Suppl 5): S25–S31.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo JL et al. Seventh report of the joint national committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Hypertension 2003; 42: 1206–1252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Guidelines Committee. 2003 European society of hypertension – European society of cardiology guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. J Hypertens 2003; 21: 1011–1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pickering TG, Davidson K, Gerin W, Schwartz JE . Masked hypertension. Hypertension 2002; 40: 795–796.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Unit of Preventive Cardiology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    G Pannarale, M C Acconcia, L Gianturco, F Mirabelli, R Licitra, D Mutone, V Basso, A Pergolini, A Madeo & C Gaudio

Authors
  1. G Pannarale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M C Acconcia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L Gianturco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. F Mirabelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R Licitra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. D Mutone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. V Basso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. A Pergolini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. A Madeo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. C Gaudio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Pannarale.

Additional information

The authors have no conflicts of interest related to the paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pannarale, G., Acconcia, M., Gianturco, L. et al. Cigarette smoking and ambulatory blood pressure: a case–control study in normotensives. J Hum Hypertens 22, 129–131 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002261

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002261

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links