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Björklund, K. 2002. 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Relation to the Insulin Resistance Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1199. 62 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-554-5451-8. Hypertension constitutes part of the insulin resistance syndrome, and is a common and powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease in elderly. Blood pressure (BP) measured with 24-hour ambulatory monitoring gives however more detailed information and may be a better estimate of the true BP than conventional office BP. This study examined relationships between 24-hour ambulatory BP and components of the insulin resistance syndrome, and investigated the prognostic significance of 24-hour BP for cardiovascular morbidity in a longitudinal population-based study of 70-year-old men. The findings indicated, that a reduced nocturnal BP fall, nondipping, was a marker of increased risk primarily in subjects with diabetes. A low body mass index and a more favourable serum fatty acid composition at age 50 predicted the development of white-coat as opposed to sustained hypertension over 20 years. Furthermore, cross-sectionally determined hypertensive organ damage at age 70 was detected in sustained hypertensive but not in white-coat hypertensive subjects. In a prospective analysis, 24hour ambulatory pulse pressure and systolic BP variability at age 70 were strong predictors of subsequent cardiovascular morbidity, independently of office BP and other established risk factors. Isolated ambulatory hypertension, defined as having a normal office BP but increased daytime ambulatory BP, was associated with a significantly increased incidence of cardiovascular events during follow-up. In summary, these data provide further knowledge of 24-hour ambulatory BP and associated metabolic risk profile, and suggest that the prognostic value of 24hour ambulatory BP is superior to conventional BP in an elderly population.