Hemorheology of growth hormone-deficient adults

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in adults results in alterations of body co mposition and metabolism associated with a lowered insulin sensitivity and an increased cardiovascular risk. Since hemorheologic disturbances (putativ e factors of vascular risk) are found in the insulin-resistance syndrome, w e investigated blood rheology in 9 adults GHDs (5 men, 4 women; age 37.9 +/ - 4.7 years; body mass index 30.23 +/- 3.2 kg/m(2)) compared with 23 lean c ontrols and 37 controls matched for sex, age and body mass index. While thi s sample of GHDs exhibits the typical metabolic picture of this syndrome (u pper body overweight with a waist-to-hip ratio at 0.91 +/- 0.07; low HDL ch olesterol at 1.07 +/- 0.09 mmol.l(-1). low insulin sensitivity with the min imal model technique at 3.3 +/- 1.29 min(-1)/(mu U/ml).10(-4)) they have si milar values of blood viscosity at either native or corrected hematocrit, s imilar hematocrit, similar red cell rigidity viscometric index, similar red cell aggregation parameters than overweight matched controls. There is onl y a nonsignificant tendency for plasma viscosity to be higher in GHDs: this tendency becomes significant when women are considered alone (GHDs: 1.44 /- 0.04 mPa.s; controls: 1.31 +/- 0.04 mPa.s, p < 0.05) while it is no long er found in men. This study suggests that GHDs exhibit the classical hemorh eological disturbances of non-GHD individuals with the same degree of obesi ty. There is no evidence for a further impairment of blood rheology associa ted with the specific metabolic and endocrine pattern of GHDs that may be i nvolved in their increased vascular risk.