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Arterial stiffness in children with primary hypertension is related to subclinical inflammation

Piotr Skrzypczyk1, Anna Zacharzewska2, Michał Szyszka3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics and Nephrology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.

Central-European Journal of Immunology
|November 12, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Subclinical inflammation, indicated by neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), is linked to arterial stiffness in pediatric primary hypertension. NLR may predict arterial stiffness in these young patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Inflammation Research
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • The immune system can drive inflammation, leading to elevated blood pressure and arterial damage.
  • Subclinical inflammation plays a role in the development of arterial damage.
  • Primary hypertension (PH) in children is a growing concern with potential long-term vascular consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between subclinical inflammation and arterial damage in pediatric patients with primary hypertension.
  • To evaluate the utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) as indicators of arterial damage in pediatric PH.
  • To explore correlations between inflammatory markers and measures of arterial stiffness and blood pressure.

Main Methods:

  • A study involving 119 children with PH and 45 healthy controls.
  • Analysis of inflammatory markers (NLR, PLR, MPV), clinical parameters, and blood pressure.
  • Assessment of arterial damage using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), central blood pressure, aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), augmentation index (AIx75HR), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and common carotid artery stiffness (E-tracking).

Main Results:

  • Children with PH exhibited significantly higher neutrophil counts, platelet counts, NLR, and PLR compared to healthy children.
  • Pediatric hypertension was associated with increased aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT).
  • In PH patients, NLR showed positive correlations with systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure from ABPM, as well as with aPWV and common carotid artery stiffness.

Conclusions:

  • A significant association exists between arterial stiffness and subclinical inflammation in pediatric primary hypertension.
  • The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) demonstrates potential as a valuable biomarker for assessing arterial stiffness in children with primary hypertension.
Abstract

Keywords:
adolescentsarterial stiffnesschildrenneutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratioprimary hypertensionpulse wave velocitysubclinical inflammation

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