Hematocrit and hemoglobin values are negatively correlated with insulin resistance in spontaneous hypertension

It has been recently reported that increased hematocrit and hemoglobin values often accompany insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia in humans. In the current study, we analyzed the relationship between hematocrit/hemoglobin on the one hand and insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension on the other hand in HXB/BXH recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and the Brown Norway (BN) rat. The SHR progenitor strain had a significantly increased hematocrit values and it was also hypertensive and insulin-resistant when compared with the BN progenitor. The distribution of hematocrit and hemoglobin values among RI strains was continuous, suggesting a polygenic mode of inheritance. Analysis of RI strains revealed that hemoglobin was negatively correlated with insulin and insulin/glucose ratio, and that hematocrit was negatively correlated with insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in isolated adipocytes. There was no relationship between hematological parameters and blood pressure or lipid phenotypes in RI strains. The findings of the current study suggest that hematocrit and hemoglobin values might be added to the clustering variables related to the insulin resistance syndrome in the SHR strain.