This study evaluated the effect of acupuncture treatment on the blood pressure in the elderly based on measurements using the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring method (ABPM). The relationships between the psychological health status and the status evaluated by an oriental medical questionnaire were also examined. Methods: The subjects consisted of 15 elderly females aged 75 [±6]. A model TM-2421 (A&D Co., Tokyo, Japan) was used for ABPM. Blood pressure was measured before the acupuncture

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... tment, at the end of the treatment, and one month after the treatment. The average systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse rate (PUL) were measured over 24 hours, daytime and nighttime; the hyperbaric index (HBI); and the circadian rhythm were measured by the cosinor method. Subjects were divided into two groups, hypertensive and normal groups, using JNC7 (daytime 13518SmmHg, nighttime 120/75mmHg) as the reference. Subjects were also asked to answer the questions in the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) and Meiji Oriental Medical Score (MOS). Acupuncture treatment was applied twice a week over two months, a total of 18 times, with the aim of improving the blood pressure, psychological status, and chronic pain syndromes. Results : Of the 15 subjects who participated in the recent study, six were in the normal blood pressure group and nine, in the hypertensive group. Averages of both SBP and DBP measured over 24 hours, daytime and nighttime exhibited a uniform decreasing trend at the end of the treatment. In the hypertensive group, the average nighttime