Association of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide with metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the relationship between individual components in metabolic syndrome (MetS) and amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). METHODS A screening program for MetS in 2008 in Taiwan excluded subjects aged <30 years and pregnant women. Fasting glucose, insulin level, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and NT-proBNP were assessed. A propensity-score matching process was used to select subjects with and without MetS comparable in age, gender, body height, and serum creatinine levels. A multiple regression model was used to determine the association between individual components of MetS and NT-proBNP. Finally 270 subjects with MetS and another 270 matched subjects without MetS aged ≥30 years were included. RESULTS The subjects with MetS had higher uric acid and hsCRP, but not NT-proBNP. Multiple regression model showed that log (NT-proBNP) was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (β=0.002 per mmHg, p=0.013), but negatively associated with body mass index (β=-0.017 per kg/m(2), p=0.018), triglyceride (β=-0.00048 per mg/dL, p=0.020) and insulin level (β=-0.005 per mU/L, p=0.005). Log (NT-proBNP) was neutral to waist circumference, fasting glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION MetS was not associated with serum NT-proBNP concentrations due to the contradictory effects of each component.