Association between insulin resistance and left ventricular hypertrophy in asymptomatic, Black, sub-Saharan African, hypertensive patients: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: Conflicting information exists regarding the association between insulin resistance (IR) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We described the associations between obesity, fasting insulinemia, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and LVH in Black patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: A case–control study was conducted at the Centre Médical de Kinshasa (CMK), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between January and December 2019. Cases and controls were hypertensive patients with and without LVH, respectively. The relationships between obesity indices, physical inactivity, glucose metabolism and lipid disorder parameters, and LVH were assessed using linear and logistic regression analyses in simple and univariate exploratory analyses, respectively. When differences were observed between LVH and independent variables, the effects of potential confounders were studied through the use of multiple linear regression and in conditional logistic regression in multivariate analyses. The coefficients of determination (R(2)), adjusted odds ratios (aORs), and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to determine associations between LVH and the independent variables. RESULTS: Eighty-eight LVH cases (52 men) were compared against 132 controls (81 men). Variation in left ventricular mass (LVM) could be predicted by the following variables: age (19%), duration of hypertension (31.3%), body mass index (BMI, 44.4%), waist circumference (WC, 42.5%), glycemia (20%), insulinemia (44.8%), and HOMA-IR (43.7%). Hypertension duration, BMI, insulinemia, and HOMA-IR explained 68.3% of LVM variability in the multiple linear regression analysis. In the logistic regression model, obesity increased the risk of LVH by threefold [aOR 2.8; 95% CI (1.06–7.4); p = 0.038], and IR increased the risk of LVH by eightfold [aOR 8.4; 95 (3.7–15.7); p < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: Obesity and IR appear to be the primary predictors of LVH in Black sub-Saharan African hypertensive patients. The comprehensive management of cardiovascular risk factors should be emphasized, with particular attention paid to obesity and IR. A prospective population-based study of Black sub-Saharan individuals that includes the use of serial imaging remains essential to better understand subclinical LV deterioration over time and to confirm the role played by IR in Black sub-Saharan individuals with hypertension.