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Association of angiotensin converting enzyme activity and arterial blood pressure in a population-based sample
H Schunkert1, H W Hense, M Muscholl
1Klinik für innere Medizin II, Universität Regensburg, Germany.
Insights
Serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity correlates with arterial blood pressure in middle-aged men. This association was independent of age and body mass index, suggesting a potential link in male cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Arterial blood pressure regulation involves complex mechanisms.
- Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) plays a key role in the renin-angiotensin system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between circulating ACE activity and arterial blood pressure.
- Investigate this relationship in a population-based sample of middle-aged individuals.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 646 middle-aged subjects, excluding those on antihypertensive medication or with myocardial infarction.
- Univariate and multilinear regression analyses were employed.
- Stratified analysis by sex was performed.
Main Results:
- Systolic blood pressure correlated with age and body mass index in all subjects.
- ACE activity showed a significant association with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in men.
- This correlation remained independent of age, body mass index, and antihypertensive therapy in men.
- No significant association was found between ACE activity and blood pressure in women.
Conclusions:
- Variability in serum ACE activity may be linked to arterial blood pressure levels in men.
- The findings suggest a sex-specific relationship between ACE activity and blood pressure.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between circulating angiotensin converting enzyme activity and arterial blood pressure in a population-based sample of 646 middle-aged subjects.
Results:
After exclusion of subjects taking antihypertensive medication and those with electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial infarction, univariate analyses revealed that systolic blood pressure was significantly correlated with age and with body mass index. Also, angiotensin converting enzyme activity in men (n = 230) was found to be related both to systolic and to diastolic blood pressure. Inclusion of all of the men slightly strengthened the association between angiotensin converting enzyme activity and systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Multilinear regression models that included age, body mass index and antihypertensive therapy as obligatory covariates confirmed an independent correlation between angiotensin converting enzyme activity and systolic or diastolic blood pressure in the men. Furthermore, untreated men from the highest quartile of angiotensin converting enzyme activity displayed significantly higher mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure values than did those from lower quartiles, even after adjustment for covariates. In contrast, untreated women (n = 264) displayed no evidence for such associations between angiotensin converting enzyme activity and blood pressure.
Conclusion:
The data suggest that the variability of serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity occurring in this large population-based sample might be related to the level of arterial blood pressure levels in men.