Correlation between home systolic blood pressure variability and cognitive impairment in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Introduction To investigate the correlation between home blood pressure variability and cognitive function in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods Patients who received MHD were included. Their home blood pressure on nondialysis days within 1 week was collected. All patients were assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale, according to which the patients were divided into cognitive impairment (CI) group and non-CI group, and the differences between two groups were compared. Results A total of 224 patients were included in the study, of which 168 had CI (75%). Compared with non-CI group, patients in CI group had larger variability of systolic blood pressure (SBPV) (8.4 [6.7, 10.6]% vs. 6.9 [4.9, 8.8]%, P < 0.001). The smooth fitting curve (OR = 1.2, 95% CI [1.1-1.4], P < 0.001) and trend test (P for trend = 0.004) showed that the risk of CI raised with the increase of SBPV. The patients were further divided into tertiles according to the SBPV. We also found a gradual increase in the proportion of incident CI in the three tertiles. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, shorter years of education, less frequency of hemodialysis, and greater SBPV were the dependent risk of CI. Conclusion In conclusion, greater SBPV indicates higher risk of cognitive impairment in MHD patients.