Abstract
In the present review, biobehavioral factors in ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring were assessed from a psychophysiological standpoint. First, the validity of ambulatory BP was investigated, and problems with measurement errors were clarified. Second, behavioral diary and actimetry were assessed in terms of the degree to which they enable us to interpret BP variations, and some demerits, especially regarding the reactive nature of the behavioral diary, were pointed out. Third, 24-hour long-term BP variations were interpreted as diurnal variations rather than circadian rhythm. Fourth, category/option and episode were advocated as two sorts of conceptual frames to analyze a diversity of BP variations, whether long-or short-term, and some examples from typical studies were presented using the frames of reference, underlying the influence of biobehavioral factors. Fifth, some intriguing ambulatory studies using parameters besides BP were appraised, and finally, the promising nature of ambulatory psychophysiology was discussed.
