Hyperleptinemia as a risk factor for high blood pressure in the elderly

Studies have demonstrated that high serum leptin levels are associated with aging. However, we do not know whether hyperleptinemia is a relevant risk factor for high blood pressure (HBP) in the elderly. To determine the relationship between hyperleptinemia and HBP in the elderly. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out in a convenience sample of 70 healthy elderly persons comprising 46 women (mean age, 67 +/- 5.8 years) and 24 men (mean age, 73 +/- 7.5 years), and a group of 91 elderly persons with HBP, comprising 62 women (mean age, 67 +/- 8.2 years) and 29 men (mean age, 70 +/- 0.3 years). We measured serum leptin levels through the radioimmunoassay method. The elderly subjects with HBP had significantly higher leptin levels than the healthy elderly subjects (P = .02). Furthermore, in female elderly subjects we observed a statistically significant correlation between systolic blood pressure and leptin (r = 0.37, P = .003), as well as systolic blood pressure and age (r = 0.29, P = .02), but not with diastolic blood pressure. In male elderly subjects, there was no correlation between leptin and systolic blood pressure or leptin and diastolic blood pressure. However, hyperleptinemia as risk factor for HBP was nearly 5 times higher in men than in women (men, odds ratio = 18.0, 95% confidence interval 3.2-100.9, P < .001 vs women, odds ratio = 3.33, 95% confidence interval 1.4-7.4, P = .003). Our data suggest that hyperleptinemia was a significant risk factor for HBP elderly individuals, mainly in men.