Is there a Link Between Non-HDL Cholesterol and Blood Pressure? An Age and Gender Directed Analysis of 7500 Hypertensive Outpatients

Background: Both elevated non-HDL cholesterol (C) and elevated blood pressure (BP) are major risk factors for the development and targets for the prevention of atherothrombotic disease. Possible interactions between these two parameters have not been studied in detail. This investigation aims at looking at values of blood serum cholesterol, blood pressure and possible correlations therein in men and women, with a special focus on the impact of age. Methods: A total of 7496 outpatients with arterial hypertension in Austria were recruited. Four age groups were analyzed (≤ 49 years, 50 59 years, 60 69 years and ≥ 70 years). Results: Overall, men and women had similar systolic and diastolic blood pressure (158 ± 91 vs 159 ± 19 mmHg and 91 ± 10 vs 91 ± 11 mmHg, respectively; p 0.01) and similar non-HDL C values (165 ± 45 mg/dl; 164 ± 43 mg/dl, resp.; p 0.001). Both, systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure correlated highly significantly with non-HDL (p 0.001) in men (mean r = 0.15 for SBP and r = 0.18 for DBP, both p 0.001). Women showed a weaker correlation with a mean r = 0.10 for SBP and r = 0.09 for DBP (both p 0.001). With respect to the four age groups, non-HDL C was similar in men between 172 ± 47 and 173 ± 44 mg/dl up to the age of 60 years and declined to 157 ± 43 mg/dl in the group above 70 years of age. In women we detected a rise of non-HDL C by 10 mg/dl around menopause (mean 158 ± 42 mg/dl 50 years of age, mean 168 ± 42 mg/dl with 50 59 years, afterwards declining to 163 ± 43 mg/dl; p 0.01). SBP was similar in men and women over all age groups (between 157 ± 19 and 159 ± 19 mmHg), whereas DBP declined with increasing age (95 ± 10 to 88 ± 11 mmHg in men; 94 ± 11 to 88 ± 11 mmHg, resp.). Correlations between SBP, DBP and non-HDL cholesterol were greater for men. Women showed an increase around menopause. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a correlation of non-HDL C and blood pressure in hypertensive men of all age groups. In women, menopause has a significant influence not only on lipid levels, but also on correlations to blood pressure.