title: Association of resistin with urinary albumin excretion in nondiabetic patients with essential hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence suggests that resistin, a recently described protein, is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in different clinical settings. In this study, we investigated the relationship of increased resistin levels with urinary albumin excretion, expressed as the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), an established index of diffuse vascular damage, in hypertensives.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our population consisted of 132 untreated nondiabetic subjects with stage I-II essential hypertension (49 males, mean age = 54 years, mean office blood pressure (BP) = 159/100 mm Hg). In all patients, ACR was determined as the average of three nonconsecutive morning spot urine samples, and venous blood sampling was performed for estimation of resistin concentrations. The distribution of resistin was split by the median (4.63 ng/ml), and accordingly, subjects were stratified into those with high and low values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hypertensive patients with high (n = 66) compared to those with low resistin (n = 66) exhibited higher ACR values (21.8 + or - 15.3 vs. 10.3 + or - 3.8 mg/g, P < 0.01), even after adjustment for confounders. In the total population, resistin was associated with 24-h systolic BP (r = 0.244, P < 0.05), serum creatinine (r = 0.311, P = 0.007), and ACR (r = 0.499, P < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that age (b = 0.193, P = 0.02), body mass index (b = 0.237, P = 0.02), 24-h systolic BP (b = 0.338, P < 0.0001), 24-h heart rate (b = 0.169, P = 0.04), and resistin (b = 0.77, P < 0.01) were independently associated with ACR (R(2) = 0.471, P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypertensive subjects with augmented resistin levels exhibit higher albuminuria, independently of established risk factors. Moreover, the association of resistin with ACR suggests a link between resistin and microvascular disease in the early stages of essential hypertension.
authors.affiliation: First Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece. ktsioufis@hippocratio.gr
authors.forename: Costas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsioufis
authors.forename: Kyriakos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dimitriadis
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Selima
authors.forename: Antigoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miliou
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toutouzas
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roussos
authors.forename: Elli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stefanadi
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tousoulis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kallikazaros
authors.forename: Christodoulos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
mesh_terms: D000418:Albumins / Q000378:metabolism; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D052243:Resistin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000418:Albumins; D052243:Resistin; D003404:Creatinine