The Relationship of Circulating Homocysteine with Fibrinogen, Blood Pressure, and Other Cardiovascular Measures in African Adolescents

Objectives To evaluate the associations between homocysteine (Hcy) and cardiovascular health in South African adolescents. Study design Circulating Hcy concentrations of 172 South African adolescents (105 girls, ages 13 to <18 years) were measured. Anthropometric and cardiovascular factors were also included and cross-sectionally analyzed through general linear models. Results Hcy correlated positively with body weight (P =.03; after adjusting for multiple testing, it was not regarded as significant) and muscle mass (P =.01), but negatively with fibrinogen concentrations (P =.001). Across Hcy tertiles, blood pressure produced approximating U-shaped curves, with differences between the middle and upper tertiles (all P <.02). Forty percent of the adolescents had elevated blood pressure, of whom 37% fell in the lowest and 38% in the highest Hcy tertiles. Hcy differed between the sexes (with boys having higher Hcy), but not between subgroups based on puberty, weight, stunting, smoking, or alcohol consumption. Conclusions Both high and low Hcy could be early contributing risk factors to cardiovascular health. The associations between Hcy and blood pressure suggest that dietary and lifestyle manipulation, to achieve the optimal range of Hcy, may be beneficial in preventing Hcy-related hypertension in adulthood. The inverse relationship between Hcy and fibrinogen remains to be clarified.

Automated summary

The study found associations between homocysteine (Hcy) and factors like body weight, muscle mass, and fibrinogen concentrations in South African adolescents. Blood pressure showed a U-shaped curve across Hcy tertiles, with differences between middle and upper levels. This suggests that both high and low Hcy levels could contribute to cardiovascular health risks in early stages of life.