Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2008; 116 - P44
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1096371

No association between increased prolactin levels and progression of left ventricular mass in German cohort study

A Steveling 1, R Haring 2, SB Felix 3, M Nauck 4, M Dörr 3, H Völzke 2, H Wallaschofski 1
  • 1Medical Department, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Germany
  • 2Institute of Community Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Germany
  • 3Department of Cardiology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Germany
  • 4Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Germany

Objectives: Hyperprolactinemia has been associated with preserved left ventricular systolic function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy or ischemic heart disease. Moreover, an increase of the antiangiogenic and proapoptotic 16kDa form of prolactin (PRL) mediates the postpartum cardiomyopathy. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the association between elevated levels of prolactin and progression of left ventricular mass (LVM) in a population based study. Methods: The Study of Health in Pomerania is a population-based prospective cohort study in the North East of Germany. Data of 1058 individuals (572 females) at least 45 year of age with baseline prolactin (PRL) levels and repeated echocardiography were analyzed. LVM index (LVMi) was calculated dividing the LVM by the body surface area. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was defined by LVMi >48g/m2.7 in men and >44g/m2.7 in women. Determinants of cardiac mass change and incident LVH were analyzed by linear and logistic regression, respectively. Analyses were performed separately in men and women, stratified by quartiles of prolactin. Results: Women with lower levels of PRL had higher values of LVM and LVMi as well as more frequently LVH at baseline, than women with higher levels of PRL. In men, these associations were not found. At follow-up, women and men in the lowest quartile of PRL had highest values of LVM and LVMi as well as more frequently LVH. Multivariable linear regression analyses in subjects with complete variables revealed no significant results for the association of PRL and progressed LVMi. Logistic regression analyses identified lowest risk (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.2–0.9; P<0.05) for incident LVH at follow-up, for men with elevated baseline levels of prolactin. This inverse association was not found in women. Conclusion: We conclude that there is a sex-specific inverse association between levels of PRL, cardiac mass and LVH in men aged 45 years or older.