Photo Credit: Surendra Sharma
In a cross-sectional clinical study published in Respiratory Medicine, Odil Garrido Campos de Andrade and colleagues compared 35 patients with PAH with 40 age- and sex-matched controls to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic disorders. Patients with PAH showed higher A1C levels (6.1% vs 5.57%; P=0.006), a greater prevalence of hypothyroidism (22.9% vs 2.5%; P=0.007), and hyperparathyroidism (23% vs 0%). Bone mineral density (BMD) was significantly lower in the PAH group, with total hip and femoral neck Z-scores of −0.15 ±1.25 and −0.14 ±1.07 compared with controls (0.50 ±1.13 and 0.35 ±0.94; P=0.021 and P=0.038, respectively). Patients with PAH also had a higher prevalence of osteopenia or osteoporosis (34% vs 20%; RR, 2.13). The researchers emphasized the need for targeted management strategies and further research to elucidate mechanisms underlying the heightened prevalence of metabolic disorders in PAH.
