THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DAILY BLOOD-PRESSURE AND CATECHOLAMINE VARIABILITY IN NORMOTENSIVE WORKING WOMEN

Using ambulatory blood pressure monitors and timed urine collection techniques, blood pressure and the rates of urinary catecholamine excretion were compared across the work, home, and sleep environments of 45 women who perceived their work environment as most stressful (work stressed) and 35 women who perceived their home environment as equally or more stressful (home stressed) on the day of monitoring. The work-stressed women had higher systolic pressure at work (121 vs. 115; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in diastolic pressure or the absolute levels of the catecholamines between the groups. However, the percent changes in blood pressure and catecholamines from work or home to sleep were significantly correlated in the work-stressed but not the home-stressed women (r values from 0.25 to 0.45, p < 0.05). The work-stressed and home-stressed women differed in their proportional make-up of several demographic characteristics, including having children (percentage of home-stressed women with children > work-stressed) (p < 0.05), ethnicity (percent of black home-stressed > work-stressed) (p < 0.01), and family history of hypertension (percentage of work-stressed > home-stressed) (0.05 < p < 0.10). These differences, in part, may have determined the daily patterns of perceived stress in the two groups of women. Overall, these findings suggest that work stress and/or the sociodemographic characteristics that may influence the perception of work stress may drive a daylong sympathetic response that increases blood pressure in working women.