Insulin Resistance in Teenage Boys Linked to Elevated Systolic BP
Remember from past updates that hyperinsulinema affects the cells lining the arteries and because of this may be the answer behind supposedly “essential” hypertension. This article supports that hypothesis. On the scarier side, how many of our young people now have increased insulin resistance because of the nutrient poor, highly processed dietary patterns that are all too common?
55th Annual Fall Conference of the AHA Council for High BP Research In 15-year-old males, insulin resistance correlates with systolic blood pressure. Dr. Alan R. Sinaiko of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and colleagues from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina used euglycemic insulin clamp studies to measure insulin resistance in 159 boys and 128 girls enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools. Measurements were collected at age 13 and again at 15. Half of the volunteers came from the top 25% of the school population based on socioeconomic status. Fifty-three students were black, Dr. Sinaiko said. On average the boys had a higher body mass index (BMI) than girls at both age 13 and age 15. Results of the studies done at age 13 did not indicate an association between insulin resistance and systolic blood pressure, but “in 15-year-old males there was a significant association.” For both males and females, higher insulin resistance was also associated with higher triglycerides and lower HDL. There was no correlation with diastolic blood pressure. Moreover, as in adults, “insulin resistance and systolic blood pressure was influenced by total body fatness,” Dr. Sinaiko said.