Several studies on the prognosis of masked hypertension suggest that it portends risks for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that are comparable to the risks of sustained hypertension. obese individuals could have an increased risk of developing masked hypertension, data on the topic are scarce in our context.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of masked hypertension in obese patients in Yaoundé.

We carried out a cross-sectional study from January to September 2017 at the National Obesity Center of the Yaoundé Central Hospital. Masked hypertension was defined when the mean 24-hour Systolic Blood Pressure was greater than or equal to 130mmHg and/or the mean 24hour Diastolic Blood Pressure was greater than or equal to 80mmHg with normal office blood pressure. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship of masked hypertension with associated factors.

Among the 90 participants included, 67.8% were females. Mean age (±SD) was 46 (±8) years. The mean clinical measurements were 120±9.4mmHg and 75.5±7.9mmHg respectively for the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure. On 24-hour Ambulatory measurement, the mean was 123.9±14.4/74.7±8.9mmHg respectively for the systolic/diastolic blood pressure. The prevalence of masked hypertension was 33.3%. Masked hypertension was significantly associated with high-normal office blood pressure [odds ratio (OR) =2.90, P=0.02] and to dyslipidemia [OR=3.60, P=0.01], but not to male sex, diabetes, physical activity, tobacco/alcohol.

Our findings suggest that the prevalence of masked hypertension is high and that physicians should consider ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for obese individuals with high-normal office blood pressure and/or dyslipidemia.