Relationship between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability and depressive mood in Korean primary care patients

High blood pressure variability (BPV) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and may be better prognostic factor than blood pressure. Depressive mood is a common symptom among patients visiting primary care. This study aimed to investigate the association between depressive mood and high BPV among Korean primary care patients. The Family Cohort Study in Primary Care (FACTS), conducted from April 2009 to November 2017, utilized a prospective cohort of Korean primary care patients, with a median follow-up period of 7.25 years. Depressive mood was assessed as a score of 21 points or more on the Korean-type Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. BP was measured at the initial visit and first and second follow-up visit. Visit-to visit SBP variability was analyzed using four metrics: intra-individual standard deviation, coefficient of variation, variation independent of mean, and average real variability. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association of high BPV with depressive mood and other variables. Among 371 participants, 43 (11.6