Abstract:
Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma fibrinogen (Fib) level and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in essential hypertension (EH) patients.
Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 890 patients with EH patients who attended the geriatrics outpatient clinic at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. Using a cutoff value of FMD ≥ 6%, the patients were divided into a normal FMD group (n = 680) and an abnormal FMD group (n = 210). Baseline characteristics and Fib levels were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were used to analyze the correlation between Fib and FMD in EH patients. The EH patients were further stratified into subgroups according to gender, age, and the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, and obesity. Multivariate linear regression was applied to examine the association between Fib and FMD in each subgroup.
Results The Fib level in the abnormal FMD group was higher than that in the normal FMD group ( 3.47±0.92 vs 3.11±0.89 g/L, t = 1.25, P<0.01). In EH patients, univariate linear regression showed that FMD was significantly negatively correlated with Fib (B= –0.012, P<0.001). After adjusting for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and triglycerides,Multivariate linear regression revealed that Fib was an independent determinant of FMD in patients with EH (B= –0.007, P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that after adjustment for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and triglycerides, Fib was associated with FMD in all EH subgroups except the T2DM-complicated subgroup (all P<0.05). Further stratified analysis demonstrated that Fib was an independent determinant of FMD in elderly male EH patients (B= –0.007, P = 0.020) and elderly female EH patients (B= –0.009, P = 0.022).
Conclusion Among patients with EH, those with abnormal FMD also exhibited significantly elevated Fib levels. In addition to the subgroup with diabetes mellitus, Fib and age were independent predictors of FMD in EH, and BMI also had significant influence on FMD in some subgroups.In EH patients, Fib levels were elevated in those with abnormal FMD. Fib was associated with FMD in all subgroups except the subgroup complicated with diabetes mellitus.