Psychological stress and long-term blood pressure variability of military young males: The cardiorespiratory fitness and hospitalization events in armed forces study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study cohort (n = 1112)

Characteristic	BSRS ≤ 5 (n = 983)	BSRS > 5 (n = 129)	P value
Age (yr)	32.21 ± 3.87	32.22 ± 4.02	0.99
Body mass index (kg/m2)	25.14 ± 2.93	25.18 ± 2.71	0.89
SBP (mmHg)	118.45 ± 13.45	117.60 ± 12.98	0.49
DBP (mmHg)	71.58 ± 10.12	71.83 ± 9.95	0.78
Heart rate (beats per min)	74.96 ± 10.48	75.51 ± 11.54	0.58
Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)	94.42 ± 13.17	95.09 ± 15.33	0.59
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	180.27 ± 36.62	179.30 ± 34.01	0.75
High-density lipoprotein (mg/dL)	47.97 ± 9.78	48.30 ± 11.15	0.72
Physical activity
Never or occasionally	147 (15.0)	38 (29.5)	< 0.01
1-2 times/wk	365 (37.1)	62 (48.1)
≥ 3-5 times/wk	471 (47.9)	29 (22.5)
Current drinkers (%)	441 (44.9)	76 (58.9)	< 0.01
Current smokers (%)	376 (38.3)	55 (42.5)	0.33

Continuous variables are expressed as the mean ± SD, and categorical variables as n (%). BSRS: Brief Symptom Rating Scale; SBP: Systolic blood pressure; DBP: Diastolic blood pressure.

Table 2 Association of the Brief Symptom Rating Scale score and the components with the long-term blood pressure variability indexes in multivariable liner regressions

	Unadjusted			Model 1
	β(SE)	P value	R2, %	β(SE)	P value	R2, %
BSRS scores
ARVSBP	-0.005 (0.019)	0.80	0.0	-0.001 (0.018)	0.94	7.2
ARVDBP	-0.003 (0.020)	0.88	0.0	0.001 (0.020)	0.96	7.2
SDSBP	-0.028 (0.025)	0.26	0.1	-0.022 (0.024)	0.36	7.2
SDDBP	-0.032 (0.027)	0.23	0.1	-0.023 (0.026)	0.38	7.2
Anxiety
ARVSBP	-0.005 (0.005)	0.31	0.1	-0.003 (0.005)	0.51	6.2
ARVDBP	-0.003 (0.005)	0.53	0.0	-0.001 (0.005)	0.83	6.1
SDSBP	-0.009 (0.006)	0.17	0.2	-0.006 (0.006)	0.32	6.2
SDDBP	-0.007 (0.007)	0.29	0.1	-0.003 (0.007)	0.66	6.1
Depression
ARVSBP	-0.002 (0.004)	0.62	0.0	-0.001 (0.004)	0.71	5.6
ARVDBP	0.000 (0.004)	0.93	0.0	0.000 (0.004)	0.93	5.6
SDSBP	-0.007 (0.005)	0.16	0.2	-0.006 (0.005)	0.21	5.7
SDDBP	-0.005 (0.006)	0.40	0.1	-0.003 (0.006)	0.58	5.6
Hostility
ARVSBP	0.002 (0.004)	0.66	0.0	0.003 (0.004)	0.55	6.1
ARVDBP	0.001 (0.005)	0.88	0.0	0.001 (0.005)	0.83	6.0
SDSBP	-0.003 (0.006)	0.54	0.0	-0.002 (0.006)	0.67	6.1
SDDBP	-0.006 (0.006)	0.31	0.1	-0.005 (0.006)	0.40	6.1
Interpersonal sensitivity
ARVSBP	-0.002 (0.004)	0.55	0.0	-0.002 (0.004)	0.60	6.1
ARVDBP	-0.001 (0.004)	0.76	0.0	0.000 (0.004)	0.90	6.1
SDSBP	-0.010 (0.005)	0.07	0.3	-0.009 (0.005)	0.09	6.3
SDDBP	-0.008 (0.006)	0.18	0.2	-0.006 (0.006)	0.29	6.2
Insomnia
ARVSBP	0.003 (0.004)	0.49	0.0	0.003 (0.004)	0.41	3.9
ARVDBP	0.001 (0.004)	0.80	0.0	0.001 (0.004)	0.74	3.8
SDSBP	0.001 (0.005)	0.84	0.0	0.002 (0.005)	0.72	3.8
SDDBP	-0.003 (0.005)	0.58	0.0	-0.002 (0.005)	0.71	3.8

β means standardized regression coefficient; R² means a measure for model prediction. The covariates adjusted in model 2 include age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, physical activity, and current alcohol intake. BSRS: Brief Symptom Rating Scale; ARV_SBP: Average real variability for systolic blood pressure variability; ARV_DBP: Average real variability for diastolic blood pressure variability; SD_SBP: Standard deviation for systolic blood pressure variability; SD_DBP: Standard deviation for diastolic blood pressure variability.