The levels of endothelin, renin, copeptin, testosterone, estradiol, osteocalcin and PIVKA-II in adolescents aged 17 years with newly diagnosed hypertension

Abstract

Background. The purpose of the work is to study the blood content of biologically active substances — peptides and hormones that can affect blood pressure and the development of hypertension, depending on the gender and disease course in adolescents aged 17 years by comparing them with healthy individuals. Materials and methods. There were examined 87 adolescents (37 boys and 50 girls) who were divided into 4 main groups with stable and labile hypertension and 2 control groups with normotension. All patients underwent daily blood pressure monitoring and a comprehensive clinical examination, which ruled out symptomatic hypertension. The serum concentrations of biologically active substances were determined, namely endothelin, renin, copeptin, testosterone, estradiol, osteocalcin and protein induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKA-II), by enzyme immunoassay. Results. It was found that the most important feature that distinguishes hypertensive adolescents from normotensive peers was renin, which serum concentrations were almost 1.5 times higher in boys with labile hypertension and twofold — with stable hypertension. Girls with stable hypertension had the same patterns, with a twofold increase in renin level. Regardless of hypertension course, female adolescents had higher endothelin levels. In addition, girls with stable hypertension had high serum content of PIVKA-II. Conclusions. The elevated serum renin level in boys and girls at late stages of puberty as an indicator of renal dysfunction can be considered an essential cause of hypertension development. Determining the importance of renal dysfunction with increased levels of vasopressor hormones directs therapeutic efforts in the treatment of adolescents with hypertension precisely to the correction of this link in the pathogenesis of juvenile hypertension.