An elevated blood pressure (BP) response to the cold pressor test (
CPT) is associated with increased risk of
hypertension and
cardiovascular disease. However, it is still unclear whether BP response to the
CPT is a stable and reproducible trait over time. Using the same study protocol, the authors repeated the
CPT 4.5 years after initial administration among 568 Han Chinese in rural northern China (2003-2005 and 2008-2009). BP was measured using a standard
mercury sphygmomanometer prior to and 0, 1, 2, and 4 minutes after the participants immersed their hand in
ice water (3°C-5°C) for 1 minute. Absolute BP levels and BP responses during the
CPT in the initial and repeated administrations were highly correlated. For example, the correlation coefficients were 0.67, 0.73, 0.71, and 0.72 for absolute systolic BP levels at 0, 1, 2, and 4 minutes after
ice-water immersion (all P 's < 0.0001). The correlation coefficients for systolic BP response were 0.41 at 0 minutes, 0.37 at 1 minute, 0.42 for maximum response, and 0.39 for the area under the curve during
CPT (all P 's < 0.0001). These data indicate that BP response to the
CPT is a long-term reproducible and stable characteristic in the general population.