Does home blood pressure monitoring improve patient outcomes? A systematic review comparing home and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring on blood pressure control and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare the clinical effectiveness of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) on blood pressure (BP) control and patient outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted. We also appraised the methodological quality of studies. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Control Trials (CENTRAL). INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized control trials, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, observational studies, and case-control studies published in English from any year to present that describe HBPM and 24-hour ABPM and report on systolic and/or diastolic BP and/or heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and/or all-cause mortality for adult patients. Due to the nature of the question, studies with only untreated patients were not considered. RESULTS: Of 1,742 titles and abstractions independently reviewed by two reviewers, 137 studies met predetermined criteria for evaluation. Nineteen studies were identified as relevant and included in the paper. The common themes were that HBPM and ABPM correlated with cardiovascular events and mortality, and targeting HBPM or ABPM resulted in similar outcomes. Associations between BP measurement type and mortality differed by study population. Both the low sensitivity of office blood pressure monitoring (OBPM) to detect optimal BP control by ABPM and the added association of HBPM with cardiovascular mortality supported the routine use of HBPM in clinical practice. There was insufficient data to determine the benefit of using HBPM as a measurement standard for BP control. CONCLUSION: HBPM encourages patient-centered care and improves BP control and patient outcomes. Given the limited number of studies with both HBPM and ABPM, these measurement types should be incorporated into the design of randomized clinical trials within hypertensive populations.

Results of an Academic, Health Care Worksite Weight Loss Contest for Southeastern Americans: Scale Back Alabama 2011-2013.

Few studies have assessed the effectiveness of competitive incentivized worksite weight loss programs. Scale Back Alabama (SBA) is a free, state-supported program designed to promote weight loss among overweight and obese citizens. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the design and preliminary findings of SBA as a worksite intervention among employees at a collegiate institution and university hospital. In teams of 4 employees, SBA participants volunteered to engage in a 10-week competitive weight loss contest; both teams and individuals who lost significant weight were eligible for randomly drawn cash incentives. Trained staff objectively measured participants' weight before and at the conclusion of the contest. Preliminary analyses suggest that SBA as a worksite program can promote weight loss among employees, but future analyses are warranted to understand the context of these findings and determine if current results are confounded by unmeasured factors.