ESPE Abstracts

Background: Many endocrinopathies are associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. Central blood pressure (CAP), reflecting the condition of blood vessels, may be useful in monitoring of patients with endocrinopathies.

Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate parameters of CAP in patients with selected endocrinopathies.

Method: The study group comprised 122 patients (58 girls and 64 boys) with endocrinopathies: GH deficiency before GH therapy (group 1; n=28), undergoing GH therapy (group 2; n=24), diabetes mellitus (DM) lasting for ≤5 years (group 3; n=15), DM lasting for >5 years (group 4; n=11), treated hyperthyroidism (group 5; n=14), treated hypothyroidism (group 6; n=13), and obesity (group 7; n=17). The control group consisted of 29 patients (16 girls and 13 boys) with no cardiac irregularities or endocrinopathies. Three measurements of CAP were performed using Central Blood Pressure Meter (cBP01) and mean values were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 10.0.

Results: Patients with untreated GH deficiency had significantly lower CAP than the control group (90.2 mmHg vs 99.8 mmHg; P<0.001), lower amplification index (1.55 vs 1.67; P=0.046), and higher augmentation index (0.66 vs 0.61; P=0.02). Both indices normalised after GH therapy. CAP, however, remained lower than in control group (93.24 mmHg vs 99.8 mmHg; P=0.04). Group 3 had significantly lower systolic blood pressure (111.26 mmHg vs 119.49 mmHg; P=0.04) and central pulse pressure (27.04 mmHg vs 31.43 mmHg; P=0.049) than control group. No such differences were observed in groups 4, 5, and 6. Values of CAP (114.68 mmHg vs 99.8 mmHg; P<0.001) and central pulse pressure (36.52 mmHg vs 31.43 mmHg; P=0.03), as well as peripheral arterial pressures, were significantly higher in obese patients than in control group.

Conclusion: Endocrinopathies in children are associated with cardiovascular immaturity, expressed by lower values of central arterial pressure indices. Proper treatment of underlying diseases leads to normalisation of studied parameters. Obesity predisposes to higher risk of cardiovascular incidents.