Effects of cardiovascular risk factor variability on health outcomes

Innumerable studies have suggested “the lower, the better” for cardiovascular risk factors, such as body weight, lipid profile, blood pressure, and blood glucose, in terms of health outcomes. However, excessively low levels of these parameters cause health problems, as seen in cachexia, hypoglycemia, and hypotension. Body weight fluctuation is related to mortality, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, although contradictory findings have been reported. High lipid variability is associated with increased mortality and elevated risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, end-stage renal disease, and dementia. High blood pressure variability is associated with increased mortality, myocardial infarction, hospitalization, and dementia, which may be caused by hypotension. Furthermore, high glucose variability, which can be measured by continuous glucose monitoring systems or self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, is associated with increased mortality, microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes, and hypoglycemic events, leading to hospitalization. Variability in metabolic parameters could be affected by medications, such as statins, antihypertensives, and hypoglycemic agents, and changes in lifestyle patterns. However, other mechanisms modify the relationships between biological variability and various health outcomes. In this study, we review recent evidence regarding the role of variability in metabolic parameters and discuss the clinical implications of these findings.