The potential role of testosterone in hypertension and target organ damage in hypertensive postmenopausal women

Ningyin Li, Ruixin Ma, Shixiong Wang, Yang Zhao, Ping Wang, Zhitao Yang, Lingling Jin, Panpan Zhang, Hong Ding, Feng Bai, Jing Yu, Ningyin Li, Ruixin Ma, Shixiong Wang, Yang Zhao, Ping Wang, Zhitao Yang, Lingling Jin, Panpan Zhang, Hong Ding, Feng Bai, Jing Yu

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to confirm the potential role of testosterone in hypertension and target organ damage (TOD) in hypertensive postmenopausal women. Methods: A matched group study was conducted. One hundred sixty-one hypertensive postmenopausal women between 45 and 65 years of age were enrolled as group 1. Another 161 age-matched hypertensive men were enrolled as group 2. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, echocardiographic imaging, vascular function, sex hormones and clinical characteristics were evaluated. Quantitative data were analyzed using independent Student's t-test and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean and load level of blood pressure were lower in women than in men (P<0.05), except for the mean level and load of the nocturnal systolic blood pressure (SBP) (123.77±15.72 mmHg vs 126.35±15.64 mmHg, and 50.43±30.31% vs 55.35±28.51%, P>0.05). However, the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) in women was higher than that in men (9.68±2.23 m/s vs 8.03±2.82 m/s, P<0.05). The ratio of the early diastolic mitral peak flow velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/Em) was obviously impaired (13.06±3.53 vs 12.05±3.68, P<0.05) in women. Furthermore, in women, a positive correlation was found between testosterone and cf-PWV (γ=0.157, P=0.046), and Cf-PWV was positively related to the mean level of nighttime SBP (γ=0.210, P=0.008). Moreover, nocturnal SBP was a risk factor for E/Em (γ=0.156, P=0.048, P<0.05). Conclusion: Testosterone may play a role in the correlation between hypertension and TOD in hypertensive postmenopausal women. Clinical Trial number: This research study was registered under the ClinicalTrials.gov PRS Website (NCT03451747).

Keywords: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity; hypertensive; left ventricular diastolic function; postmenopausal women; testosterone.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this study.

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