Effect of achieving blood pressure targets on the relative telomere length in hypertensive patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background. The role of relative telomere length (RTL) as a marker of cardiovascular prognosis and quality control of the disease course remains to be found out. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the relative blood leukocyte telomere length (RLTL), relative buccal epithelium cell telomere length (RBTL) and achieving blood pressure targets (BPTs) in hypertensive (H) individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and without T2DM. Material and methods. In 156 patients with stage II hypertension (96 of them had T2DM), carbohydrate metabolism parameters and blood pressure levels were evaluated. RLTL and RBTL were determined by a real time quantitative PCR. Results. A combination of hypertension and T2DM was associated with significantly greater RLTL (p = 0.009) and RBTL (p = 0.001) compared with isolated hypertension. There was no convincing evidence of BPT influence on the change in the RLTL in isolated hypertension. Achieving BP targets was associated with a paradoxical shortening of RBTL. There was a significant shortening of RTL in hypertensive patients with T2DM when the BPTs were not reached. An analysis of variance revealed a significant influence of BPTs on the RBTL and RLTL. Conclusion. Patients with a comorbid course of hypertension and T2DM had more pronounced decrease in the RTL. Target levels of blood pressure have a more significant effect on the RLT than the glycemic control in patients with concomitant T2DM. An additional determination of the RBTL enhances the diagnostic and prognostic power when evaluating the effectiveness of correcting cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure.