RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSCK9 PLASMA LEVELS AND BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS REGISTERED BY AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING (ABPM)

Abstract

Objective: Establish a correlation between values and circadian patterns of 24-hour BP measured by ABPM and serum PCSK9 values to try identify an early CVR biomarker. Design and method: In a sample of 166 patients (without treatment with statins) followed in an HBP medical office, 24-hour BP was evaluated by ABPM and correlated with the plasma analytical values of PCSK9. The mean age of the participants was 59.5 years The mean values of daytime and nocturnal systolic and diastolic BP and its relationship with the circulating values of PSCK9 were analyzed. For all variables, the mean, median, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were calculated, as well as their minimum and maximum values and their asymmetry coefficient. Results: There is a significant correlation of PCSK9 values with daytime SBP (r = 0.240; p = 0.002; R2 = 0.06), and also weaker with nocturnal SBP (r = 0.153; p = 0.049), in both cases with positive correlation. No positive correlation of PCSK9 values was observed with the mean values of DBP (p = 0.587 and p = 0.081), although it should be taken into account that at the sample level the sign of the coefficient is negative. When grouping the sample by type of AT, it is observed that in general, the positive relationship between daytime systolic BP and PSCK9 remains both in patients with a standard dipper (r = 0.206) and in those with a non-dipper (r = 0.387). On the contrary, for nocturnal systolic BP, it is only observed in dippers (r = 0.420) and in extreme dippers but with a negative sign (r = -0.515). The correlation is not significant among the dippers (p = 0.191). Conclusions: In our study, we found a positive correlation between serum PSCK9 levels and 24-hour BP values with different degrees of positivity according to the circadian pattern and type of HBP. This assumes that the plasma level of PSCK9 could be a possible early biomarker of CVR in these hypertensive patients. More studies are needed to confirm our preliminary results.