The Association of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Hypertensive Patients

Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) has been identified as an endogenous anti-hypertrophy effect. However, the association of plasma GDF-15 levels with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertension is poorly understood. We investigate the effect of plasma GDF-15 levels on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertension. We measured the plasma levels of GDF-15 in 299 untreated hypertensive patients which consisted of 99 with LVH and 200 without LVH using immunoradiometric assay. All subjects were examined by the ultrasonic cardiograph to determine Left ventricular (LV) internal diameters, septal thickness, and posterior wall thickness. The associations of GDF-15 with left ventricular mass index (LVMI), LV end-systolic and -diastolic diameters, LV wall thickness, and LV ejection fraction were evaluated. We found that plasma GDF-15 levels in hypertensive patients with LVH [median 1101, 25th-75th percentiles (879-1344) ng/L] were higher than that in hypertensive patients without LVH [median 516, 25th-75th percentiles (344-640) ng/L] (P<0.001). After adjustment for traditional covariates, plasma GDF-15 levels were independently related to LVMI (R(2) = 0.53; β = 0.624, P<0.001), LV interventricular septal thickness (R(2) = 0.23; β = 0.087, P<0.01) and LV posterior wall thickness (R(2) = 0.26; β = 0.103, P<0.05). Our cross-sectional data on a hospital-based sample indicate that plasma GDF-15 levels are associated with LVH in hypertensive patients.