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Plasma visfatin levels in young male patients with uncomplicated and newly diagnosed hypertension

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 21, pages 173–175 (2007)Cite this article

Visfatin is a newly identified protein preferentially produced in visceral adipose tissue.1, 2 Its tissue expression and plasma levels increase in obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM).2, 3 On the other hand, pathophysiological role of visfatin in hypertension is unclear. We performed a case–control study to investigate any relation between plasma visfatin levels and blood pressure (BP), insulin sensitivity and inflammation in young patients with newly diagnosed and previously untreated hypertension and without confounding factors for insulin resistance (IR) and inflammation such as dyslipidemia, obesity and DM.

Thirty-three male subjects with new onset hypertension (mean age 22.1±2.5 years, body mass index (BMI) 24.0±1.8 kg/m2) referred to Department of Internal Medicine, Gulhane School of Medicine in 12 months and 33 healthy men (mean age 21.1±1.7 years, BMI 23.6±1.5 kg/m2) as controls were enrolled. The inclusion criteria for patients were: BMI <25 kg/m2, fasting blood glucose <100 mg/dl, triglyceride <150 mg/dl, total cholesterol (TC) <200 mg/dl and normal renal, hepatic and cardiac functions. Secondary causes of hypertension were eliminated by medical history, physical examination and laboratory measurements where necessary. BP was measured with an appropriate arm cuff and a mercury column sphygmomanometer after a resting period of at least 5 min. Two measurements within 5 min were averaged as the systolic and diastolic BPs. Patients were considered hypertensive if their BPs on three separate occasions exceeded 140/90 mm Hg. All venous blood samples were drawn after an overnight fast. Plasma visfatin levels were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay method (Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, Belmont, CA, USA). Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was determined by turbidimetric fixed rate method (Olympus AU-2700, Mishima, Japan). Fasting glucose, TC, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides were measured by enzymatic colorimetric method with Olympus AU 600 auto analyzer using appropriate reagents. Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol was calculated by the Friedewald's formula. Serum basal insulin level was determined by the coated tube method (DPC, Los Angeles, CA, USA). Homeostasis Model Assessment Model (HOMA) was used to determine the insulin sensitivity index. Results are expressed as mean±s.d. or median (range). Data were evaluated using SPSS 11.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Gulhane School of Medicine, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey

    T Dogru, A Sonmez, I Tasci, G Erdem & H Erturk

  2. Department of Nephrology, Gulhane School of Medicine, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey

    M I Yilmaz

  3. Biochemistry Laboratory, Bayındır Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    N Bingol

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Gulhane School of Medicine, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey

    S Kilic

  5. Department of Biochemistry, Gulhane School of Medicine, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey

    T Ozgurtas

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  1. T Dogru
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Correspondence to T Dogru.

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Dogru, T., Sonmez, A., Tasci, I. et al. Plasma visfatin levels in young male patients with uncomplicated and newly diagnosed hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 21, 173–175 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002114

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