Correlation of Serum Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 with Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure among Newly Diagnosed Primary Hypertensive Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

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Introduction: Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a serine protease inhibitor expressed in adipose tissue, causes inflammation in hypertension and vice versa. The excess adipose tissue increases the production of PAI-1. There have been no relevant studies conducted on PAI-1 in southern Odisha in relation to Body Mass Index (BMI) and hypertension. Aim: To compare the BMI, Waist Hip Ratio (WHR), Waist Circumference (WC), and serum levels of PAI-1 in hypertensive cases with controls, and also to correlate the serum level of PAI-1 with BMI and blood pressure. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with the Department of Medicine of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, Odisha, India from November 2020 to August 2021. A total of 45 newly diagnosed primary hypertensive patients and 43 healthy age and sex-matched individuals between the ages of 18 to 60 years were enrolled in the study. Serum PAI-1 was measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). BMI, WC, hip circumference, WHR, and blood pressures of the controls as well as cases were recorded. Data were statistically analysed using the Student’s t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The proportion of males was higher (56%) than females (44%). The cases had a significantly higher level of serum PAI-1 (203.36 ng/mL) compared to the control group (60.11 ng/mL) (p-value<0.001). The cases had a higher BMI, WC (meters), and WHR compared to the control group. The serum PAI-1 level positively correlated with Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) (r-value=0.852, p-value<0.001), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) (r-value=0.726, p-value=0.000), BMI (r-value=0.620, p-value=0.001), WC (r-value=0.444, p-value=0.002), and WHR (r-value=0.593, p-value<0.001). Conclusion: A high serum PAI-1 level was found in the newly diagnosed hypertensive cases, and a significant positive correlation was observed between PAI-1 and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, along with BMI, WC, and WHR.