Abstract
To prevent further spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Japanese government announced a state of emergency, resulting in major stress for the population. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between changes in daily stress and blood pressure (BP) in Japanese patients. We retrospectively investigated 748 patients with chronic disease who were treated by the Sagamihara Physicians Association to determine changes in stress during the COVID-19 state of emergency from 7 April to 31 May 2020. During the state of emergency, office BP significantly increased from 136.5 ± 17.5/78.2 ± 12.0 to 138.6 ± 18.6/79.0 ± 12.2 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.03, respectively). In contrast, home BP significantly decreased from 128.2 ± 10.3/75.8 ± 8.8 to 126.9 ± 10.2/75.2 ± 9.0 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively), and the ratio of white coat hypertension was significantly increased (p < 0.001). Fifty-eight percent of patients worried about adverse effects of hypertension as a condition contributing to the severity and poor prognosis of COVID-19; decreased amounts of exercise and worsened diet compositions were observed in 39% and 17% of patients, respectively. In conclusion, a significant increase in office BP with the white coat phenomenon was observed during the state of emergency, as well as an increase in related stress. To prevent cardiovascular events, general practitioners should pay more attention to BP management during stressful global events, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) caused a global coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID19) pandemic, as declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020
The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients who regularly visited clinics for any lifestylerelated or chronic diseases; (2) patients aged over 20 years; (3) patients with blood pressure (BP) data measured in office prior to the state of emergency announcement and data available at the time of the survey; and (4) patients who answered a questionnaire related to daily stress levels during the state of emergency
The achievement rate of target home BP significantly increased during the state of emergency (p < 0.001), and the
Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between changes in daily stress and blood pressure (BP) in Japanese patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stress of patients during the COVID-19 state of emergency and to clarify its influence on BP
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