High progesterone levels are associated with family history of premature coronary artery disease in young healthy adult men

Abstract

Background & aims The offspring of patients with premature coronary artery disease (P-CAD) are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, compared with subjects without a family history (FH) of P-CAD. The increased risk for cardiovascular disease in subjects with FH of early-onset CAD results from unfavorable genetic variants as well as social, behavioral and environmental factors, which are more prevalent in this group. Previous studies have shown that specific sex hormone levels may be associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to compare wide range of biochemical marker levels including i.e. the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), progesterone, estradiol, testosterone and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) between young healthy male adults with and without FH of P-CAD. Methods The study group consisted of young healthy Polish male adults enrolled in a MAGNETIC case-control study, who were recruited between July 2015 and October 2017. The inclusion criteria were as follows: male sex, age ≥18 and ≤35 years old, FH of P-CAD (cases) or no P-CAD in first-degree relatives (controls). The comparison of continuous and categorical variables was performed using the Student’s t-test or the U-Mann–Whitney test, and Fisher’s exact test, respectively. The correlations between FSH, LH, testosterone, progesterone, SHBG and other laboratory parameters were assessed using the Spearman rank correlation test. Both univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between analyzed variables and FH of P-CAD. Results A total of 411 subjects (223 cases and 188 controls) were included in the study. There was a higher prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with FH of P-CAD (smoking, higher total and LDL cholesterol levels, higher body mass index and lower HDL cholesterol level). Moreover, the offspring of patients with P-CAD had lower SHBG level, and higher LH and progesterone levels in the crude comparison, compared with individuals without FH of P-CAD. After adjustment for confounding variables, progesterone and LH were determined to be independently associated with FH of P-CAD. Conclusion Progesterone and LH levels are significantly associated with FH of P-CAD, independent of traditional risk factors for CAD.

Sex hormones in men with abdominal aortic aneurysm

“…Progesterone, a precursor of both testosterone and estrogen, is primarily the most potent pregnancy-sustaining, synthesized in the ovaries and adrenal cortex (38,39). The impact of progesterone on vascular disease in women has been elaborately described yet knowledge about its action in men is limited, until recently when high progesterone levels were found to be associated with family history of premature coronary artery disease in men (40,41). One of the challenges in studying an effect of sex hormones on AAA development is determining the impact of the observed hormonal changes over time, especially, since it has yet to be determined if the age-related changes in sex hormones represents a physiological process of aging or a pathological event.…”

Risk Factors for Thoracic Aortic Dissection

“…Acute administration of progesterone increases endothelial-specific nitric oxide synthase production and decreases blood pressure, which may prevent cardiovascular diseases [ 40 , 41 ]. However, prolonged exposure to high progesterone levels is linked to premature coronary artery disease in young males [ 42 ]. It remains unclear how or if female or male sex hormones modulate aortic wall homeostasis to affect dissection risk.…”

Recent research trends in voltammetric sensing platforms for hormones and their applications to human serum analyses

“…Representative recent reports in which the direct oxidation and bioaffinity sensing methods integrating antibodies or aptamers targeting P4, E2, and Cor in human serum samples, are listed in Table 1. P4, a pregnancy hormone of which the elevated level is related to premature coronary artery disease, 62 is electroactive; thus, the direct oxidation method can be readily adopted to develop its voltammetric sensors. A nanohybrid material comprising Fe3O4 NPs, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) nanocomposites, and functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs) possessing excellent electrocatalytic properties were implemented onto a GCE for the direct oxidation of P4 resulting in an LOD of 2.18 nM.…”