Programming of hypertension: associations of plasma aldosterone in adult men and women with birthweight, cortisol, and blood pressure
Programming of hypertension: associations of plasma aldosterone in adult men and women with birthweight, cortisol, and blood pressure
Animal models suggest that explanations for the association of low birthweight with adult hypertension may include chronic activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axes. In humans, low birthweight predicts elevated plasma cortisol, but associations with aldosterone have not been reported. We measured aldosterone in serum samples from 205 men and 106 women from 67 to 78 years of age, from Hertfordshire, UK, for whom birthweight was recorded. Participants underwent an overnight low-dose (0.25 mg) dexamethasone suppression test and a low-dose (1 µg) ACTH (corticotropin) stimulation test and were genotyped for the -344 C/T polymorphism of the CYP11B2 gene encoding aldosterone synthase. Median aldosterone was 6.22 ng/dL (range 0.15 to 38.74) and was higher in men than women (P<0.0001). Higher aldosterone levels after both dexamethasone and ACTH stimulation were associated with higher blood pressure (r=0.20, P=0.001; r=0.33, P<0.0001, respectively) and with lower birthweight (r=–0.16, P=0.008; r=–0.21, P=0.001, respectively). These associations remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, obesity, and genotype. Our findings supplement previous evidence that aldosterone is an important regulator of blood pressure and suggest that factors in early life that retard fetal growth and program activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in humans result not only in higher glucocorticoid activity but also in increased mineralocorticoid activity.
programming, hypertension, aldosterone, mineralocorticoid, glucocorticoid
932-936
Reynolds, Rebecca M.
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Walker, Brian R.
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Phillips, David I.
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Dennison, Elaine M.
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Fraser, Robert
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Mackenzie, Scott M.
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Davies, Eleanor
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Connell, John M.
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June 2009
Reynolds, Rebecca M.
0e42554c-fafd-447c-99ec-19b024c47302
Walker, Brian R.
9001dafb-5471-4f7f-a073-c482d78f5125
Phillips, David I.
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Dennison, Elaine M.
ee647287-edb4-4392-8361-e59fd505b1d1
Fraser, Robert
8bdf0213-8daf-4f30-add5-adc891ff96ac
Mackenzie, Scott M.
d695fe8c-0565-4955-9b67-e7ed0b216668
Davies, Eleanor
a315b0a4-f8b2-4b62-a3eb-f4ee1ab8ab99
Connell, John M.
08c5a11f-6336-4438-a436-a9d40d1fe43b
Reynolds, Rebecca M., Walker, Brian R., Phillips, David I., Dennison, Elaine M., Fraser, Robert, Mackenzie, Scott M., Davies, Eleanor and Connell, John M.
(2009)
Programming of hypertension: associations of plasma aldosterone in adult men and women with birthweight, cortisol, and blood pressure.
Hypertension, 53, .
(doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.109.129320).
Abstract
Animal models suggest that explanations for the association of low birthweight with adult hypertension may include chronic activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axes. In humans, low birthweight predicts elevated plasma cortisol, but associations with aldosterone have not been reported. We measured aldosterone in serum samples from 205 men and 106 women from 67 to 78 years of age, from Hertfordshire, UK, for whom birthweight was recorded. Participants underwent an overnight low-dose (0.25 mg) dexamethasone suppression test and a low-dose (1 µg) ACTH (corticotropin) stimulation test and were genotyped for the -344 C/T polymorphism of the CYP11B2 gene encoding aldosterone synthase. Median aldosterone was 6.22 ng/dL (range 0.15 to 38.74) and was higher in men than women (P<0.0001). Higher aldosterone levels after both dexamethasone and ACTH stimulation were associated with higher blood pressure (r=0.20, P=0.001; r=0.33, P<0.0001, respectively) and with lower birthweight (r=–0.16, P=0.008; r=–0.21, P=0.001, respectively). These associations remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, obesity, and genotype. Our findings supplement previous evidence that aldosterone is an important regulator of blood pressure and suggest that factors in early life that retard fetal growth and program activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in humans result not only in higher glucocorticoid activity but also in increased mineralocorticoid activity.
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Published date: June 2009
Keywords:
programming, hypertension, aldosterone, mineralocorticoid, glucocorticoid
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Local EPrints ID: 151371
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/151371
ISSN: 0194-911X
PURE UUID: 7f658dc5-726e-47a1-a9c8-46ec2673f03a
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Date deposited: 10 May 2010 14:50
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:39
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Author:
Rebecca M. Reynolds
Author:
Brian R. Walker
Author:
David I. Phillips
Author:
Robert Fraser
Author:
Scott M. Mackenzie
Author:
Eleanor Davies
Author:
John M. Connell
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