Endocrine Connections (Feb 2021)

Parathyroid hormone may play a role in the pathophysiology of primary hypertension

  • Lasse Oinonen,
  • Antti Tikkakoski,
  • Jenni Koskela,
  • Arttu Eräranta,
  • Mika Kähönen,
  • Onni Niemelä,
  • Jukka Mustonen,
  • Ilkka Pörsti

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1530/EC-20-0446
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 54 – 65

Abstract

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Parathyroid hormone has been related with the risk of hypertension, but the matter remains controversial. We examined the association of parathyroid hormone with central blood pressure and its determinants in 622 normotensive or never-treated hypertensive subjects aged 19–72 years without diabetes, cardiovascular or renal disease, or cardiovascular medications. The methods were whole-body impedance cardiography and analyses of pulse wave and heart rate variability. Cardiovascular function was examined in sex-specific tertiles of plasma parathyroid hormone (mean con centrations 3.0, 4.3 and 6.5 pmol/L, respectively) during head-up tilt. Explanatory factors for haemodynamics were further investigated using linear regression analyses. Mean age was 45.0 (s.d. 11.7) years, BMI 26.8 (4.4) kg/m2, seated office blood pressure 141/90 (21/12) mmHg, and 309 subje cts (49.7%) were male. Only five participants had elevated plasma pa rathyroid hormone and calcium concentrations. Highest tertile of parathyroid hormone presented with higher supine and upright aortic diastolic blood pressure ( P < 0.01) and augmentation index (P < 0.01), and higher upright systemic vascular resistance ( P < 0.05) than the lowest tertile. The tertiles did not present with differences in pulse wave velo city, cardiac output, or measures of heart rate variability. In linear regression analyses, parathyroid hormone was an independent explanatory factor for aortic systolic ( P = 0.005) and diastolic (P = 0.002) blood pressure, augmentation index (P = 0.002), and systemic vascular resistance (P = 0.031). To conclude, parathyroid hormone was directly related to central blood pressure, wave reflection, and systemic vascular resistance in s ubjects without cardiovascular comorbidities and medications. Thus, parathyroid hormone may play a role in the pathophysiology of primary hypertension.

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