Objective: We examined whether elevated blood pressure (BP) (≥120/80 mmHg) was associated with several anthropometric, metabolic, and clinical variables, including the family history of type 2 diabetes (FHD) and low birth weight, in young normal weight Japanese women. Methods: BP, body composition, and fasting glucose, insulin, lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and adipokines were measured in 332 young Japanese women. They received a questionnaire on birth weight and FHD. Results: The prevalence of low birth weight was 2.4% and that of positive FHD was 22.9%. Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance averaged <1.5 and did not differ cross-sectionally between 32 women with elevated BP and 300 women with normal BP although mean body mass index was higher in the former than in the latter (21.7 ± 2.9 kg/m2 vs. 20.8 ± 2.2 kg/m2, P = 0.02). Women with elevated BP had higher fat mass index (P = 0.02) and trunk fat percentage (P = 0.04). They had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 (both P = 0.01) while fasting triglycerides and apolipoprotein B did not differ. In addition, they had higher plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the prevalence of low birth weight (9.4% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.03) and positive FHD (40.6% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.01) was higher in women with elevated BP. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that elevated BP was independently associated with PAI-1 [odds ratio (OR); 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.08, P = 0.001], low birth weight (OR: 12.3, 95% CI: 2.3-67.3, P = 0.04), and FHD (OR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.3-7.9, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Elevated BP was associated with positive FHD, low birth weight, and elevated serum PAI-1 in young normal weight Japanese women.
Keywords: PAI-1; birth weight; blood pressure; family history of type 2 diabetes; young lean women.