Association of pulse pressure with serum TNF- and neutrophil count in the elderly

Aims. elevated pulse pressure (pp) has been reported to be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes in elderly patients with hypertension. methods. cross-sectional relationships of pp with known risk factors for type 2 diabetes and inflammatory markers were examined in 150 elderly community-dwelling women,79 women (52.7%) of whom had hypertension. results. systolic blood pressure (standardized β,0.775),log tumor necrosis factor-(tnf- standardized β,0.110),age (standardized β,0.140),and neutrophil count (standardized β,0.114) emerged as determinants of pp independent of high-sensitivity c-reactive protein,interleukin-6,monocyte count,plasminogen activator inhibitor-1,homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance,hdl-cholesterol,and adiponectin (r 2 = 0.772). conclusions. the present studies have demonstrated an independent association of higher pp with higher tnf- a marker of insulin resistance,and neutrophil count in community-living elderly women and suggest that insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammation may in part be responsible for the association between high pp and incident type 2 diabetes found in elderly patients with hypertension. © 2014 eriko yamada et al.