Is idiopathic mild hyperprolactinemia a cardiovascular risk factor?

There is a strong relationship between arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. How arterial stiffness is affected in elevated PRL conditions is uncertain. Biological action of prolactin contributing to the atherosclerotic process is a new research area.

We aimed at investigating cardiovascular risk predictability by conducting arterial stiffness measurement in patients with idiopathic hyperprolactinemia.

The biochemical parameters and arterial stiffness analyses of 54 patients with idiopathic hyperprolactinemia, who had applied to our polyclinic in 2017 and 2018, and 55 healthy volunteers having similar characteristics with regard to age, sex and body mass index.

The median prolactin level of the idiopathic hyperprolactinemia patients with a median age of 31 was found to be 45 ng/mL. The peripheral and central blood pressures and pulse wave velocities (PWV) of both the patient group and the control group were found to be similar. Any relations between prolactin levels and blood pressure and arterial stiffness could not be found.

Our study showed that arterial stiffness did not increase in young patients with idiopathic mild hyperprolactinemia. However, the long-term effects of mildly elevated prolactin levels are unknown. Prospective randomized studies are required, that could reveal more clearly the prolactin-cardiovascular risk relation, and the clinical effects of extra-pituitary hyperprolactinemia.