What is the relationship between white coat hypertension and dyslipidemia?

The prognostic significance of white coat hypertension (WCH) remains controversial. Consecutive patients (955 cases, 566 females) aged between 15 and 70 years were divided into 3 groups, those with sustained normotension (NT), WCH, and hypertension (HT), and the prevalences of obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary heart disease (CHD), and dyslipidemia were compared among the groups. Although the prevalences of all of the disorders showed significant progression from the sustained NT group towards the WCH and HT groups, the prevalence of dyslipidemia was significantly higher in the WCH group (P < 0.05 for all). Due to the gradually increased prevalences of obesity, IGT or DM, and CHD from the sustained NT group towards the WCH and HT groups and the highest prevalence of dyslipidemia in the WCH group, WCH should preferentially be accepted as an alarming sign of a deterioration in health rather than being a predisposing factor of HT or atherosclerosis alone. The significantly higher prevalence of dyslipidemia in the WCH group than in the HT group may be explained by the increased amount of adipose tissue in the HT cases, since the prevalence of obesity was the highest in the HT group. Thus, the high prevalence of WCH even in early decades may represent increased susceptibility to future weight gain, and dyslipidemia in patients with WCH may be a preliminary sign of obesity. Therefore, the management of WCH should focus on the prevention of dyslipidemia and excess weight gain.