title: Age and gender differences in the association between Nt-proBNP and glucometabolic disturbances.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Glucometabolic disturbances are associated with myocardial dysfunction. Brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) are used for detecting myocardial dysfunction in clinical practice. However, studies on elderly subjects and gender-specific analyses are sparse.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined cross-sectional associations between Nt-proBNP and 1) fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and 2) categories of glucometabolic disturbances, in middle-aged and older subjects (1266 men, 526 women), applying multivariate linear regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FPG was positively correlated with Nt-proBNP among middle-aged men (p = 0.04) and negatively albeit non-significantly (p = 0.1) among middle-aged women. Weaker non-significant correlations were seen among older subjects. Middle-aged men with new-onset and prevalent diabetes had higher Nt-proBNP than the reference group (FPG ≤5.0 mmol/L): 9.53 (p = 0.002) and 8.23 (p = 0.02) vs. 5.71 pmol/L. No differences in Nt-proBNP between categories of glucometabolic disturbance were observed among older men or women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate an age- and gender difference in the ability of Nt-proBNP to identify myocardial dysfunction in relation to glucometabolic disturbances. Therefore, Nt-proBNP should be used with caution as a general surrogate marker for myocardial dysfunction in this setting.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Skane University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. Margret.Leosdottir@med.lu.se
authors: Margret
authors: M
authors: Leosdottir
authors: Ronnie
authors: R
authors: Willenheimer
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Hall
authors: Solve
authors: S
authors: Tjora
authors: Johan
authors: J
authors: Malm
authors: Olle
authors: O
authors: Melander
authors: Peter M
authors: PM
authors: Nilsson