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Serum Calcium: Can It Be A Diagnostic And Prognostic Marker In Essential Hypertension?
58-62
Correspondence
Dr. Yogesh Ramkrishna Pawade
Plot No. 95, Shivaji Colony,
Hudkeshwar Road,
Nagpur (M.S.) – 440 034
Mobile No – 09619920682
08055843866
e-mail address: yogeshpawade@gmail.com
dr_yogesh_pawade@yahoo.co.in
Context: To evaluate the usefulness of serum calcium in the diagnosis and prognosis of essential hypertension
Objectives: To find out the association of serum calcium with the pathophysiology of essential hypertension
Study Design: A cross-sectional analytical study
Materials & Methods: Concentrations of serum total and ionized calcium were analyzed and compared between hypertensive cases and normotensive controls by using the unpaired two-tailed Student’s t t test. All statistical analyses were done by using PASW (SPSS) v.18.0.
Results: The mean levels of serum total calcium were not statistically different between the hypertensive and the normotensive groups (P > 0.05). The hypertensive subjects had significantly lower mean serum ionized calcium levels (P < 0.001) as compared to the normotensive controls. Correlation studies showed that the serum ionized calcium levels varied negatively with age, both in the hypertensive (r = -0.283, P < 0.01) and the normotensive subjects (r = -0.219, P < 0.01). The Liner regression analysis of serum ionized calcium levels with age indicated that hypertensive subjects had 1.67 times higher variation in serum ionized calcium levels than in the normotensive subjects at a particular age.
Conclusion: Essential hypertension is associated with perturbations in calcium metabolism, especially with decreased levels of the ionized fraction of serum calcium, thus contributing to the ageing process. Serum ionized calcium can be used as a diagnostic as well as a prognostic marker in essential hypertension.