AUTHOR=Nachman Dean , Eisenkraft Arik , Goldstein Nir , Ben-Ishay Arik , Fons Meir , Merin Roei , Gepner Yftach TITLE=Influence of Sex, BMI, and Skin Color on the Accuracy of Non-Invasive Cuffless Photoplethysmography-Based Blood Pressure Measurements JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.911544 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2022.911544 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=

Vital signs obtained by photoplethysmography-based devices might be influenced by subcutaneous fat and skin color. This observational comparison study aimed to test the accuracy of blood pressure (BP) measurements between a photoplethysmography-based device and cuff-based BP device in ambulatory individuals, coming for a routine BP checkup. Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) measurements were stratified based on sex, BMI (<25; 25 ≤BMI<30; 30 ≤kg/m2), and skin color (types 1–3 and 4–6 by the Fitzpatrick scale). A total of 1548 measurements were analyzed. Correlations of SBP and DBP between the devices among males/females were between 0.914–0.987 (p < 0.001), and Bland-Altman analysis showed a bias of less than 0.5 mmHg for both sexes. Correlations of SBP and DBP between the devices among BMI groups were between 0.931–0.991 (p < 0.001), and Bland-Altman analysis showed a bias of less than 1 mmHg for all. Correlations of SBP and DBP between the devices among the skin color groups were between 0.936–0.983 (p < 0.001), and Bland-Altman analysis showed a bias of less than 1 mmHg for all. This study shows similar and high agreements between BP measurements obtained using a PPG-based non-invasive cuffless BP device and a cuff-based BP device across sex, BMI, and skin color groups.