BLOOD PRESSURE, HIGH-SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN, INTERLEUKIN-6 AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS IN THE COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS

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Objective: Increasing evidence indicates an association between blood pressure (BP) and vascular inflammation, although these relationship remains unknown in older adults. Understanding this association in this population is particularly important in the context of increased prevalence of hypertension, as well as role of inflammatory responses in age related comorbidities. Design and method: We examined the relationship between BP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and white blood cells (WBC) among 3571 older (aged > = 65 years) and 587 middle-aged (57 ± 1 years old) adults recruited as a part of the PolSenior health survey . Results: BP levels differed in relation to hs-CRP and WBC quartiles in older patients. In particular, systolic BP were 145 ± 22 mmHg and 149 ± 24 mmHg, in the first and fourth quartile of hs-CRP (P = 0.002), and 145 ± 20 mmHg and 150 ± 23 mmHg, respectively for the WBC (P < 0.001). In contrast, systolic BP did not differ between IL-6 quartiles (146 ± 21 mmHg and 145 ± 22 mmHg, P = 0.8). Moreover, the age, gender and body mass index (BMI) adjusted odds ratio (OR) for high BP in subjects with hs-CRP > = 3.7 mg/L was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.05-1.58, P = 0.01) compared with those with hs-CRP < 1 mg/L; in patients with WBC> = 7.1 x 109/L OR was 1.42 (95% CI, 1.16-1.75, P < 0.001) compared with those with WBC < 5.2 x 109/L. Interestingly, in subjects with IL-6 > = 3.4 pg/mL adjusted OR was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68-1.04, P = 0.11) compared with those with IL-6 < 1.4 pg/mL. In the fully-adjusted model applied in older adults, higher hs-CRP remained associated with high BP, independently of age, gender, BMI, IL-6 and WBC (adjusted OR = 1.12, 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.22, P = 0.008). Conclusions: CRP and WBC, but not IL-6, are positively associated with high blood pressure in the population of community-dwelling older adults, independently of age, gender, and BMI. Results of our study may suggest an important role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of increased blood pressure, also in the older population.