Hematocrit and left ventricular mass: the Framingham Heart study.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between hematocrit (Hct) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and LV hypertrophy (LVH) in subjects without known hypertension or cardiovascular disease in the Framingham Heart study.


BACKGROUND
Anemia may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the general population. One potential explanation for this finding could be an association between Hct with LVMI or LVH.


METHODS
Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between Hct with LVMI and LVH. All analyses were stratified by gender and further according to menopausal status in women.


RESULTS
There were 1,376 men and 1,769 women who met the inclusion criteria. The mean Hct and LVMI were 46.5% and 41.9%, and 127.3 and 95.8 g/m, respectively, in men and women. After adjustment for confounders, each 3% lower Hct was associated with a 2.6 g/m higher mean LVMI in men, and a 1.8 g/m higher mean LVMI in postmenopausal women (p < 0.05). There was a significant quadratic relationship between Hct and LVMI in premenopausal women (p < 0.01). Subjects in the lowest quartile of Hct (compared with the rest of the sample) had an adjusted odds ratio of LVH of 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3 to 3.0) in men and 1.4 (95% CI 0.8 to 2.4) in postmenopausal women.


CONCLUSIONS
In a sample without known hypertension or cardiovascular disease, a lower Hct is associated with echocardiographically determined LVH in men and a small but significantly higher LVMI in men and postmenopausal women. The clinical importance of these findings remains unknown.
Amin
Manish G
MG
Division of Clinical Care Research, Department of Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Tighiouart
Hocine
H
Weiner
Daniel E
DE
Stark
Paul C
PC
Griffith
John L
JL
MacLeod
Bonnie
B
Salem
Deeb N
DN
Sarnak
Mark J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D008593:Menopause / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D015415:Biomarkers