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1. Aldosterone and Glucose Metabolism Disorders in Primary Aldosteronism

   • Olivier Steichen, MD
   • Joanna Matrozova and Pierre-François Plouin

   AP-HP, hôpital Tenon, Internal Medicine Department, Paris, France

   The deleterious effect of aldosterone on the heart and kidneys is well established and Dr Sowers and colleagues nicely synthesized the supportive laboratory and clinical evidence (1). As the authors point out, laboratory data also provide grounds for a diabetogenic effect of aldosterone. However, clinical evidence linking aldosterone and glucose metabolism disorder still appears to be equivocal.

   Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a natural model of sustained exposure to high levels of aldosterone. Hence, if aldosterone exerts a deleterious effect on glucose metabolism it should translate into an increased prevalence of glucose metabolism disorders in these patients. Several studies showing higher levels of fasting blood glucose and higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome or diabetes in subjects with PA compared to essential hypertensive controls are cited by Dr Sowers, but other studies found no difference regarding these endpoints (2,3). All these reports were based on the assessment of few patients with PA (from 14 to 85).

   We investigated the metabolic profile of a large group of patients with PA (4). We found no statistically significant differences in body- mass index, fasting blood glucose or hyperglycemia (diabetes or impaired fasting plasma glucose) between 460 cases with PA and 1363 controls with essential hypertension matched for age and sex. However, this evidence does not formally preclude a clinically patent metabolic effect of aldosterone in patients with PA: other unknown diabetogenic factors than aldosterone might be more prevalent in patients with essential hypertension and lead to a similar prevalence of glucose metabolism disorders in both groups.

   But we also did not find differences between preoperative and postoperative levels of fasting plasma glucose in 61 patients with PA who underwent adrenalectomy (4). Furthermore, in case of a causal link, patients with the highest levels of aldosterone should have a higher prevalence of glucose metabolism disorders. Preliminary analyses do not show such dose – effect relationship in our patients with PA (5). Thus, it appears that neither an excessively high prevalence of glucose metabolism disorders in patients with PA, nor a causal influence of high aldosterone levels to explain it, can be considered as definitely established by now.

   References

   1. Sowers JR, Whaley-Connell A, Epstein M. Narrative review: the emerging clinical implications of the role of aldosterone in the metabolic syndrome and resistant hypertension. Ann Intern Med 2009;150:776-83

   2. Matrozova J, Steichen O, Amar L, Zacharieva S, Jeunemaitre X, Plouin PF. Fasting plasma glucose and serum lipids in patients with primary aldsoteronism. A controlled cross-sectional study. Hypertension 2009;53:605-610.

   3. Catena C, Lapenna R, Baroselli S, Nadalini E, Colussi G, Novello M, Favret G, Melis A, Cavarape A, Sechi LA. Insulin sensitivity in patients with primary aldosteronism: a follow-up study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:3457-63.

   4. Widimsky J Jr, Strauch B, Sindelka G, Skrha J. Can primary hyperaldosteronism be considered as a specific form of diabetes mellitus? Physiol Res 2001;50:603-7.

   5. Steichen O, Matrozova J, Zacharieva S, Jeunemaitre X, Amar L, Plouin PF. Glucose metabolism disorders in primary aldosteronism according to potassium and aldosterone levels [abstract]. J Hypertens 2009;27(Suppl 4):S291.

   Conflict of Interest:

   None declared

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   Published June 29, 2009