Vasopressin: a novel modifiable cardiovascular risk factor in pregnant women and in the general population

Bakgrund:

Vasopressin is released from the pituitary gland primarily in conditions of increased plasma osmolality. We previously found elevated levels of the hormone to be associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. Furthermore, vasopressin is suggested to play a role in the development of preeclampsia, a condition recognized as an important cardiovascular risk factor among women.

Målsättning:

The overall purpose of this project is to investigate whether vasopressin can be established as a new and modifiable risk factor in several metabolic, cardiovascular and pregnancy-related diseases. These conditions are interrelated with overlapping occurrence but the underlying pathophysiology behind the overlap is yet to be determined, why a search for unifying modifiable risk factors is key for effective prevention.

The first part of this project aims at investigating the association between copeptin and objective measures of artery disease. Furthermore, we will investigate if elevated vasopressin increases the risk of heart failure in a general population, and if vasopressin is associated with fatty liver disease, the liver component of the metabolic syndrome.

Finally, we aim at investigating if elevated vasopressin in early pregnancy is linked to development of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and future development of myocardioal infarction. Arbetsplan:

In the SCAPIS Malmö cohort, the association between vasopressin concentration in plasma, measured as the stable marker copeptin, and coronary artery calcium score and pulse wave velocity, respectively, will be explored. Further, association between copeptin and incident heart failure in a population based Malmö cohort, and links beweteen copeptin and fatty liver disease in a South-African cohort and in the SCAPIS Malmö cohort, will be investigated.

Finally, links between copeptin measured in sera from early pregnancy and preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and later myocardial infarction, respectively, will be explored using case-control method. Betydelse:

If vasopressin becomes establish as a new risk factor in metabolic and pregnancy-related diseases and its cardiovascular complications, the vasopressin system would emerge as a completely new and modifiable target for treatment and prevention. The easiest and most cost-effective way of lowering plasma vasopressin is to drink water.