Adult Patients with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Have Elevated Blood Pressure but Otherwise a Normal Cardiovascular Risk Profile
2011

Cardiovascular Risk in Adult Patients with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Sample size: 54 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Mooij Christiaan F., Kroese Jeanne Margot, Sweep Fred C. G. J., Hermus Ad R. M. M., Tack Cees J.

Primary Institution: Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre

Hypothesis

Adult CAH patients are at risk to develop an unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile due to lifelong treatment with glucocorticoids.

Conclusion

Adult CAH patients have higher ambulatory blood pressure compared to healthy matched controls, but other cardiovascular risk markers did not differ.

Supporting Evidence

  • CAH patients had significantly elevated 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to controls.
  • HDL cholesterol levels were higher in CAH patients.
  • hsCRP levels were lower in CAH patients compared to controls.

Takeaway

People with a condition called CAH have higher blood pressure than healthy people, but their overall heart health looks normal.

Methodology

A case-control study comparing 27 adult CAH patients with 27 matched controls, measuring various cardiovascular risk factors.

Potential Biases

The study's matching for BMI may limit the evaluation of obesity as a risk factor.

Limitations

The study used HOMA-IR instead of the gold standard for insulin sensitivity and did not evaluate the role of obesity as a cardiovascular risk factor.

Participant Demographics

27 adult CAH patients (12 males, 15 females) matched with 27 controls for age, sex, and BMI.

Statistical Information

P-Value

P<0.001 for diastolic blood pressure

Confidence Interval

1.91–2.51 for all-cause mortality in a related study

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0024204

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