An association between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic protein level and risk of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients without heart failure

The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) quartiles and the risk of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), as well as to assess the association between NT-proBNP and hallmarks of LVH in heart failure (HF)-negative patients. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze four groups of participants, who were stratified according to NT-proBNP quartiles, in order to investigate the association between NT-proBNP and the risk of LVH. Subsequently, analyses involving uni- and multivariate linear regression were performed to evaluate the associations of NT-proBNP with LV mass (LVM), LVM index (LVMI) and relative wall thickness (RWT). The results indicated that the occurrence of LVH was progressively enhanced along with increasing NT-proBNP quartiles in patients without HF. The univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the groups of quartiles 4 and 3 carried a 5.254 and 1.757 times greater risk of LVH than the group of the lowest NT-proBNP quartile, respectively. Furthermore, the multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that, compared with the quartile 1 group, participants in quartiles 2-4 had a significantly increased risk of LVH. In addition, significant positive linear associations of Lg(NT-proBNP) with LVM and LVMI were determined, while a inverse association between Lg(NT-proBNP) and RWT was indicated. The results of the present study suggested that the risk of LVH increased progressively with increasing NT-proBNP quartiles. On the basis of these results, NT-proBNP may be an effective independent prognostic marker for the risk of LVH in patients without HF.