Serum resistin level in essential hypertension patients with different glucose tolerance

Aims To investigate resistin concentrations in patients with essential hypertension and different glucose tolerance and the relationship between serum resistin level and blood glucose. Methods Sixty-five patients with essential hypertension [13 with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), 26 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and 26 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT); 30 males, 35 females] were studied. Fasting serum resistin concentrations were measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Oral glucose tolerance tests and insulin release tests were used to calculate glucose area under the curve (AUC(G)), the ratio of insulin to glucose (DeltaI(30)/DeltaG(30)), and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) according to Cederholm's formula. Results Fasting serum resistin concentrations (mug/l) in DM (34.9 +/- 10.2) patients were significantly higher than those in IGT (25.1 +/- 10.4) (P < 0.05) and in NGT (21.5 +/- 7.9) (P < 0.05) patients. Pearson correlation showed that fasting serum resistin concentration was correlated with AUC(G) (r = 0.445, P < 0.001), ISI (r = - 0.322, P < 0.01) and DeltaI(30) /DeltaG(30) ( r = - 0.366, P < 0.01), but not body mass index and waist-hip ratio. After adjustment for gender, age and body mass index (BMI), partial correlation analysis showed that the fasting serum resistin concentrations were still correlated with AUC(G) (r = 0.327, P < 0.01) and DeltaI(30) /DeltaG(30) ( r = - 0.348, P < 0.01), but ISI. Conclusion Resistin may be involved in the development of diabetes in humans.