Omentin-1 May Be a Marker for Metabolic Syndrome in People With Hypertension

An inverse relationship between circulating omentin-1 and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) was found among patients with hypertension, according to results of a study published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine.

Patients (N=110) treated for hypertension at the Servergazi State Hospital in Turkey were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared among patients with and without MetS.

The patients were aged mean 49.72±11.32 years, 49% were men, BMI was 28.40±4.82 kg/m², waist circumference to height ratio was 0.56±0.07, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 124.27±5.02 mmHg, diastolic BP (DBP) was 76.96±3.89 mmHg, median ejection fraction was 65% (interquartile range [IQR], 60%-65%), and 33.6% were current smokers.

Patients with (n=66) and without (n=44) MetS differed significantly by SBP (mean, 128.98 vs 115.95 mmHg; P =.032), DBP (mean, 80.48 vs 74.50 mmHg; P =.046), and body mass index (BMI)  (mean, 29.18 vs 27.24 kg/m²; P =.049), respectively.

Most laboratory parameters did not differ between cohorts except that patients with MetS had lower omentin-1 (median, 46.35 ng/mL vs 130.95 ng/mL; P <.001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; mean, 45.85 vs 51.48 mg/dL; P =.006) and higher triglyceride glucose index (mean, 8.96 vs 8.62; P =.001), triglycerides to HDL-C ratio (mean, 4.26 vs 2.85; P =.001), and triglycerides (mean, 179.09 vs 131.41 mg/dL; P =.002).

Omentin-1 was negatively correlated with SBP (r, -0.284; P =.024), triglyceride glucose index (r, -0.204; P =.033), triglycerides to HDL-C ratio (r, -0.201; P =.035), BMI (r, -0.169; P =.038), DBP (r, -0.194; P =.043), and triglycerides (r, -0.189; P =.048) and positively correlated with HDL-C (r, 0.265; P =.046).

MetS was inversely related with omentin-1 (odds ratio [OR], 0.962; 955 CI, 0.945-0.979; P =0.000) and positively associated with triglyceride glucose index (OR, 6.813; 95% CI, 1.783-26.040; P =.005) and BMI (OR, 1.161; 95% CI, 1.023-1.318; P =.020).

A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis found the best cutoff value of circulating omentin-1 for predicting MetS was 62.20 ng/mL (area under the curve [AUC], 0.880; 95% CI, 0.817-0.942; P <.001) with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 80%.

This study excluded patients with diabetes. Additional study is needed to assess whether there are similar trends among patients with hypertension and diabetes.

“Our study demonstrated that patients with hypertension had clearly lower circulating omentin-1 levels in the presence of MetS, regardless of the cause,” the researchers said. “It can be considered that omentin-1 may have a partial role in the development of MetS and may be a reliable marker to predict MetS.”

Reference

Sanlialp SC, Nar G, Nar R. Relationship between circulating serum omentin-1 levels and nascent metabolic syndrome in patients with hypertension. J Investig Med. 2021;jim-2021-002071. doi:10.1136/jim-2021-002071