Association between high likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea and masked hypertension: findings from the Jackson heart and coronary artery risk development in young adults studies
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Masked hypertension [nonhigh office blood pressure (BP) and high out-of-office BP] is associated with cardiovascular risk. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with high office BP, but few data exist on its association with masked hypertension, especially in Black adults who have a high prevalence of both conditions. METHODS: We analyzed pooled data from 1078 Black adults, 713 in the Jackson Heart Study and 365 in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, with office BP less than 140/90 mmHg, who completed 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring. Masked hypertension was defined as mean awake BP at least 135/85 mmHg, asleep BP at least 120/70 mmHg, or 24-h BP at least 130/80 mmHg. A high likelihood of OSA was defined using sleep questionnaires and physical measurements. Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and comorbidities. Analyses were stratified by antihypertensive medication use. RESULTS: Overall, 34% of participants had a high likelihood of OSA; 53.3% had masked hypertension. Among participants not taking antihypertensive medication ( n = 505), adjusted prevalence ratios comparing those with versus without a high likelihood of OSA were 1.31 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.61], 0.88 (95% CI 0.59-1.29), 1.37 (95% CI 1.09-1.73), and 1.35 (95% CI 1.00-1.83) for any, awake, asleep, and 24-h masked hypertension. Among those taking antihypertensive medication ( n = 573), the adjusted prevalence ratios were 1.15 (95% CI 0.99-1.32), 1.04 (95% CI 0.83-1.31), 1.14 (95% CI 0.97-1.33), and 1.19 (95% CI 0.96-1.47), respectively. CONCLUSION: A high likelihood of OSA was associated with a higher prevalence of masked hypertension among participants not taking antihypertensive medication.
Source: Journal of Hypertension
Authors: Marwah Abdalla, Bharat Poudel, Swati Sakhuja, Brandon Fernandez-Sedano, Michelle L. David, Sumayya Shurovi, Mark J. Butler, Shakia T. Hardy, Chandra L. Jackson, Dayna A. Johnson, See Ling Loy, Gbenga Ogedegbe, Joseph E. Schwartz, James M. Shikany, Daichi Shimbo, Mario Sims, Tanya M. Spruill, Carmen D. Tekwe, S. Justin Thomas, Natasha J. Williams, Roger S. Zoh, Susan Redline, Paul Muntner
Institutions: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Amgen (United States), Northwell Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Emory University, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, NYU Langone Health, New York University, Stony Brook University, University of California, Riverside, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: National Institutes of Health
OpenAlex ID: W7156674300