Eicosanoid Inflammatory Mediators Are Robustly Associated with Blood Pressure in the General Population
AbstractEpidemiological and animal studies have associated systemic inflammation with blood pressure (BP). However, the mechanistic factors linking inflammation and BP remain unknown. Fatty acid derived eicosanoids serve as mediators of inflammation and have been suggested to also regulate renal vascular tone, peripheral resistance, renin-angiotensin system, and endothelial function. We therefore hypothesize that specific pro- and anti-inflammatory eicosanoids are linked with BP. We studied a population sample of 8099 FINRISK 2002 participants randomly drawn from the Finnish population register (53% women, mean age 48±13 years) and, for external validation, a sample of 2859 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Offspring study participants (55% women, mean age 66±9 years). Using non-targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we profiled 545 distinct high-quality eicosanoids and related oxylipin mediators in plasma. Adjusting for conventional hypertension risk factors, we observed 187 (34%) metabolites that were significantly associated with systolic BP (P < Bonferroni-corrected threshold of 0.05/545). We used forward selection linear regression modeling in FINRISK to define a general formula for individual eicosanoid risk score. Individuals of the top risk score quartile in FINRISK had a 9.0 mmHg (95% CI 8.0-10.1) higher systolic BP compared with individuals in the lowest quartile in fully adjusted models. Observed metabolite associations were consistent across FINRISK and FHS. In conclusion, plasma eicosanoids demonstrate strong associations with BP in the general population. As eicosanoid compounds affect numerous physiological processes that are central to BP regulation, they may offer new insights regarding pathogenesis of hypertension, as well as serve as potential targets for therapeutic intervention.