Increase of Metabolic Syndrome Score is an Independent Determinant of Increasing Pulse Pressure

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to determine whether the progressive increase of metabolic syndrome (MetS) score, the number of components of MetS, is correlated significantly with increasing pulse pressure (PP). MATERIALS AND METHODS 4,034 subjects were enrolled from the Cardiovascular Genome Center of Yonsei University (M:F=2344:1690, 55.2 +/- 10.5). Most of the study population were recruited from hypertension clinics, controlled with medications according to JNC7 guidelines. The Asian modified criteria of MetS were applied and MetS score was estimated. The HOMA index for insulin resistance, cholesterol profiles, and anthropometric measurements were assessed. RESULTS Among 4034 participants, 1690 (41.9%) were classified as MetS. Progressive increase in PP was demonstrated for increasing components of the MetS score. Multiple linear regression analysis with PP as the dependent variable showed that age (beta = 0.311, p < 0.001), MetS score (beta = 0.226, p < 0.001), male gender (beta = -0.093, p < 0.001) and HOMA index IR (beta = 0.033, p = 0.03) are significantly associated with PP (R2 = 0.207, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The present results from this study demonstrate that increasing MetS score is an independent determinant of increasing PP. The results also demonstrate the independent role of MetS in increasing arterial stiffness and PP.