The Relationship Between the Metabolic Syndrome and Systolic Inter-Arm Systolic Blood Pressure Difference in Korean Adults

Background: The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between metabolic syndrome and systolic inter-arm blood pressure difference (sIAD) in Korean adults. Methods: This study included 410 adults (235 males, 175 females) who were over 30 years old and had undergone a health check from July to December in 2013. Results: The incidence of high sIAD and metabolic syndrome were 23.4% and 23.2%, respectively. Key study results were as follows: First, the sIAD levels increased significantly with an increase in metabolic syndrome score (p<0.001), shown by sIAD levels after adjusted the variables that affect sIAD levels (age, gender, smoking, drinking, exercising, total cholesterol, and body mass index). These were 4.6 +/- 0.7 mmHg for metabolic syndrome score (MSS) 0; 5.8 +/- 0.5 mmHg for MSS 1; 6.2 +/- 0.6 mmHg for MSS 2, 9.2 +/- 0.8 mmHg for MSS 3; and 9.9 +/- 1.2 mmHg for MSS >= 4 (p<0.001). Second, the sIAD level of the metabolic syndrome group (9.3 +/- 0.7 mmHg) was significantly higher (p<0.001) than for the nonmetabolic syndrome group (5.7 +/- 0.3 mmHg). Conclusions: In conclusion, metabolic syndrome and an increased number of its components are associated with the sIAD levels in Korean adults.