Adiposity, aldosterone and plasma renin activity among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study

• Published in: Endocrine and metabolic science Vol. 11; p. 100126
• Main Authors: Lee, Grace, Kluwe, Bjorn, Zhao, Songzhu, Kline, David, Nedungadi, Divya, Brock, Guy N., Odei, James B., Kesireddy, Veena, Pohlman, Neal, Sims, Mario, Effoe, Valery S., Wu, Wen-Chih, Kalyani, Rita R., Wand, Gary S., Echouffo-Tcheugui, Justin, Golden, Sherita H., Joseph, Joshua J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 30-06-2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; African Americans; Aldosterone; Renin; African Americans; Renin; Adipose tissue; Aldosterone
• ISSN: 2666-3961; 2666-3961
• DOI: 10.1016/j.endmts.2023.100126

To analyze associations between adiposity and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in a large African American (AA) cohort.
Cross-sectional associations of adiposity (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], waist:height ratio, waist:hip ratio, leptin, adiponectin, leptin:adiponectin ratio [LAR], subcutaneous [SAT] and visceral adipose tissue [VAT], and liver attenuation [LA]) with aldosterone, plasma renin activity (renin), and aldosterone:renin ratio (ARR) were assessed in the Jackson Heart Study using adjusted linear regression models.
A 1-SD higher BMI was associated with a 4.8 % higher aldosterone, 9.4 % higher renin, and 5.0 % lower ARR (all p < 0.05). Log-leptin had the largest magnitude of association with renin (30.2 % higher) and ARR (9.6 % lower), while the strongest association of aldosterone existed for log-LAR (15.3 % higher) (all 1-SD, p < 0.05). SAT was only associated with renin. VAT was associated with higher aldosterone, renin, and ARR. Liver fat was associated with aldosterone and renin, but not ARR. Associations of WC, BMI, and SAT with aldosterone were greater in men while the association with VAT was greater in women (p-interactions < 0.05).
Multiple measures of adiposity are associated with the RAAS in AAs. Further studies should examine the role of RAAS in obesity-driven cardiometabolic diseases.
•BMI, WC, waist:height ratio, waist:hip ratio, VAT, and leptin were positively associated with aldosterone and renin.•Adiponectin and liver attenuation were negatively associated with aldosterone and renin.•Leptin most strongly associated with renin while leptin:adiponectin ratio had the strongest association with aldosterone.•Further studies are warranted to evaluate the role of the RAAS system in obesity driven cardiometabolic diseases.