Associations of circulating irisin with 24-h blood pressure, total and visceral fat, and metabolic parameters in young adult hypertensives

OBJECTIVE: Some experimental and clinical studies suggest a possible role of irisin in central and peripheral regulation of blood pressure. The purpose of the study was to assess the associations between serum irisin levels, total and visceral fat, metabolic parameters, and blood pressure pattern during 24-h monitoring (ABPM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 206 patients with essential hypertension receiving standard antihypertensive treatments, we assessed anthropometric indices; serum irisin, blood lipids (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglycerides), glucose and insulin; body composition including lean mass and total, visceral, android and gynoid fat using a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; ABPM; and Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). RESULTS: Baseline irisin levels were within normal reference ranges and comparable between the genders. There were no significant correlations of irisin with age, anthropometric variables, lipids, HOMA-IR, body composition, as well as 24-h blood pressure and dipping status. In univariate analysis, age, fat mass and distribution, lipids and glucose, HOMA-IR, and nocturnal blood pressure fall were poor predictors of irisin levels. These neutral associations were not affected by age, gender, and treatment modality. CONCLUSIONS: In young adult hypertensives, serum concentration of irisin was within a normal range and not associated with total and regional fat, blood lipids, insulin resistance, as well as 24-h blood pressure and the magnitude of its nocturnal fall.