High Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure Variability Is Correlated with the Occurrence of Peripheral Arterial Disease in the First Decade following a Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A New Biomarker from Old Measurement

Background. To assess whether the visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) 10 years after diagnosis. Methods. The electronic medical records of 825 patients, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) during 2000–2002 and regularly followed for 10 years, were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 53,284 clinic visit records, including analysis of BP, BMI, serum glycohemoglobin, and lipid profile, were analyzed. Results. Patients were categorized into two groups according to their visit-to-visit variability in systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP, resp.). The high-risk group included patients with high SBP and DBP visit-to-visit variability; this group had a 1.679-fold (95% CI: 1.141–2.472, P = 0.009) increased risk of PAD compared with patients in the low-risk group. Cox regression analysis also demonstrated that the age at which the patients were diagnosed with T2DM, smoking status, and mean creatinine level was significantly associated with increased risk of PAD with a hazard ration of 1.064 (95% CI: 1.043–1.084, P < 0.001), 1.803 (95% CI: 1.160–2.804, P = 0.009), and 1.208 (95% CI: 1.042–1.401, P = 0.012), respectively. Conclusions. High SBP and DBP visit-to-visit variability is correlated with PAD in the first decade following a diagnosis of T2DM.