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Blood pressure and inflammation in apparently healthy men
1Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215, USA. cchae@partners.org
Insights
Hypertension may drive atherosclerosis by increasing inflammation. This study found higher blood pressure correlated with elevated inflammatory markers intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in healthy men.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Inflammation Research
- Hypertension Studies
Background:
- Inflammation is crucial in atherosclerosis development.
- Specific triggers for cytokine release in atherogenesis remain unclear.
- Hypertension is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hypertension promotes atherosclerosis through proinflammatory effects.
- To examine the association between blood pressure and inflammatory markers.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 508 apparently healthy men.
- Measured blood pressure (SBP, DBP, PP, MAP).
- Assessed plasma concentrations of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).
Main Results:
- Increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure (PP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) correlated with higher sICAM-1 levels.
- SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), PP, and MAP were significantly associated with IL-6 levels.
- These associations remained significant in regression models controlling for age and cardiac risk factors.
Conclusions:
- Higher blood pressure is significantly associated with elevated levels of sICAM-1 and IL-6 in apparently healthy men.
- Increased blood pressure may act as a stimulus for inflammation.
- This inflammatory pathway could explain hypertension's role in atherosclerotic disease.
Abstract:
Inflammation plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, but the specific stimuli governing cytokine release in atherogenesis are unknown. We examined the hypothesis that hypertension may increase the risk of atherosclerosis via proinflammatory effects. In a cross-sectional study involving 508 apparently healthy men, we studied the association between blood pressure and baseline plasma concentrations of 2 inflammatory markers, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (P=0.003), pulse pressure (PP) (P=0.019), and mean arterial pressure (P=0.014) was significantly associated with levels of sICAM-1. All of these measures of blood pressure, as well as diastolic blood pressure (DBP), were significantly associated with levels of IL-6 (all, P