Catestatin in diagnosing cardiovascular and metabolic disorders in patients with comorbid hypertension
Authors: Dunaieva I.P. , Bilovol O.M. 
Published: July 2023

Background. Hypertension is the major pandemic in human history, which determines the structure of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is an obvious relationship between hypertension and various diseases that largely determine its development and increase the risk of cardiovascular complications. Neuropeptides appear to have a major impact on the progression of these complications. Catestatin (CST) is one of them, which deserves special scientific and practical concern, as it has a wide range of biological effects in the body. The aim of the study: to determine the place of CST in the early diagnosis of cardiovascular and metabolic complications in patients with comorbid hypertension among the Ukrainian population. Materials and methods. One hundred and eleven patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity (men/women — 50/61) and 20 controls were examined. All patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity were aged 54.37 ± 1.18 years. Following a thorough examination and supervision, they were divi­ded into 2 groups depending on the median CST level of 2.45 ng/ml. The first group included 55 (49.5 %) patients who had a CST level below 2.45 ng/ml, the second one consisted of 56 patients (50.5 %) who had a CST level above 2.45 ng/ml. In all patients, we measured body weight, height, calculated body mass index, evaluated glycated hemoglobin levels, lipid metabolism (serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol); systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The content of CST, cardiotrophin 1, leptin, cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, 25(OH)D, β2-microglobulin, and insulin levels in the blood serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. A reliable difference between the groups was found by β2-microglobulin (p = 0.008). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis revealed a negative correlation between CST and cardiotrophin 1, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and 25(OH)D. A positive correlation was found between CST and the level of glycated hemoglobin, body mass index, and triglycerides. A statistically significant correlation was found between CST and creatinine (R = –0.21, p = 0.029), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (R = 0.207, p = 0.029), and β2-microglobulin (R = 0.279, p = 0.0029) in the patients with hypertension. Conclusions. It has been proven that a decrease in serum catestatin concentration can be a risk factor for the development of more severe comorbidities in patients with hypertension. The detected relationships of catestatin with creatinine, urea, and β2-microglobulin suggest that CST is a predictor of chronic kidney disease in patients with comorbidities. The revealed correlation of CST with high-density lipoprotein, obesity, and body mass index suggests its importance in the prevention of atherosclerotic and metabolic complications in patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity.