Archives of Inflammation

Hepatocyte Growth Factor as an Indicator of Reduced Handgrip Strength among Non-Overweight Hypertensive Elderly Men

Background: Age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function is reported to be associated with impairment of capillary functions. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been evaluated as a possible biochemical index of hypertension-induced vascular damage which also impairs capillary functions.
Aims: The present study aimed to clarify the clinical importance of HGF on handgrip strength (marker of loss of skeletal muscle mass and function) in hypertensive elderly men.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 191 hypertensive elderly men (60-69 years). Since low body mass index (BMI) is one of the well-known risk factors for age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, nonoverweight (BMI<25 kg/m²) subjects are a high risk group for this phenomenon. To investigate the association between HGF and handgrip strength BMI status also should be accounting.
Results: From multivariable linear regression analysis adjusted for known cardiovascular risk factors, we found a significant inverse association between handgrip strength and the logarithm of serum HGF concentration for nonoverweight elderly men but not for overweight elderly men; Β (parameter estimate)=-2.34, β (standardized parameter estimate)=-0.21, p=0.020 for non-overweight and Β=0.87, β=0.07, p=0.585 for overweight, respectively. Conclusion: We found a significant inverse association between handgrip strength and HGF in non-overweight hypertensive men. This result indicates that HGF and status of BMI may be a useful indicator to evaluate hypertension related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function.

Author(s):

Yuji Shimizu, Mio Nakazato, Shimpei Sato, Mako Nagayoshi, Koichiro Kadota, Yuko Noguchi, Jun Koyamatsu, Hirotomo Yamanashi, Kazuhiko Arima and Takahiro Maeda

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