Potential Role of Undesirable Inflammatory Status in the Prediction of Metabolic Abnormalities Among Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of inflammatory status on metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive patients. A cross-sectional study involved 106 hypertensive patients. Interview questionnaire was used to collect personal information and lifestyle habits. Participants who suffered from acute or chronic inflammatory diseases or continue using medicines were excluded as it might affect the biomedical results. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the inflammatory status: desirable inflammatory status (DIS) (CRP ˂ 3 mg/L) and undesirable inflammatory status (UIS) (CRP ≥ 3 mg/L). All patients had a stable weight with no fluctuations > 2% of their body weight for at least 2 months prior to the study. UIS condition is associated with women and older patients. The prevalence of UIS decreased significantly as the intensity of physical activity increased, while no effect was detected due to differencing smoking habits. For anthropometric measurements, UIS patients were higher in body mass index (33.4 ± 7.06 vs. 24.8 ± 10.7 kg/m 2 , P ˂ 0.001) and overall waist circumference (112.0 ± 12 vs. 105.0 ± 19 cm, P = 0.006). The gender-adjusted difference of the waist circumference revealed that UIS patients were higher among men (105.0 ± 19 vs. 114.55 ± 14 cm, P = 0.004), while there no significant difference observed among women patients. The differences of metabolic markers explained that UIS patients were higher in fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride (106.0 ± 34 vs. 95.5 ± 26 mg/dL, P = 0.025; 191.0 ± 57 vs. 173.0 ± 49 mg/dL, P = 0.017; 151.5 ± 110 vs. 123.0 ± 58 mg/dL, P = 0.002; respectively). In addition, UIS patients were higher on interleukin 6 and lower on adiponectin (2.32 ± 0.80 vs. 1.40 ± 0.75 pg/ mL, P ˂ 0.001; 11.15 ± 4.5 vs. 13.5 ± 5.3 mg/L, P = 0.01; respectively), while the differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not reach the level of significance. Hypertensive patients of UIS have significant risks to develop metabolic abnormalities and progress to metabolic syndrome. Managed inflammation and lifestyle habits could reduce the risk of developing metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive patients.