Objective To investigate the relationship between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) in patients with essential hypertension.
Methods A total of 178 patients with essential hypertension hospitalized at Xuzhou Central Hospital from October 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled. AASI was calculated through 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. According to the median value of AASI, the patients were divided to either a low AASI group (less than the AASI median; n=89) or a high AASI group (equal to or above the AASI median; n=89). Differences of age, gender, body mass index, smoking history, diabetes history, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), uric acid, and Lp-PLA2 levels between the two groups were evaluated. The correlation between Lp-PLA2 and AASI was assessed. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to analyze the association of Lp-PLA2 and clinical data with AASI.
Results Compared with the low AASI group, age [(67.87±14.23) years vs (55.65±14.59) years], systolic blood pressure [(136.96±16.23) mmHg vs (128.35±14.23) mmHg], fasting blood glucose [(5.95±2.26) mmol/L vs (5.36±0.82) mmol/L], and Lp-PLA2 [127 (100, 169) ng/ml vs 103 (86, 150) ng/ml] were significantly higher, and diastolic blood pressure [(72.26±12.87) mmHg vs (77.30±10.49) mmHg] and eGFR [(92.49±18.66) ml/(min?1.73 m2) vs (106.90±15.83) ml/(min?1.73 m2)] were significantly lower in the high AASI group (t=-5.654, P<0.001; t=-3.762, P<0.001; t=-2.296, P=0.024; Z=-2.470, P=0.014; t=2.867, P=0.005; t=5.553, P<0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between Lp-PLA2 and AASI (r=0.237, P<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that systolic blood pressure (β=0.431, P<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (β=-0.371, P<0.001), fasting blood glucose (β=0.160, P=0.013), and Lp-PLA2 (β=0.152, P=0.022) were independent risk factors for AASI.
Conclusion There is a positive correlation between Lp-PLA2 and AASI in patients with essential hypertension.