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N-Terminal ProBNP Distribution and Correlations With Biological Characteristics in Apparently Healthy Greek Population: ATTICA Study

Brain natriuretic peptides are widely used as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and mainly heart failure. However, these markers are often found to be high even in apparently healthy participants, and little is known about which factors contribute to physiological change in plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) concentration in general populations. In this study, a random subsample of the ATTICA study was used (486 individuals) and serum NT-proBNP was measured. Approximately 20% of the participants had no detectable NT-proBNP values. Women had higher values of NT-proBNP than men (median [25th-75th percentiles]: 30.2 [15.8-54.3] vs 14.9 [4.0-28.1] pg/mL, P < .001]. Amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide values were positively correlated with age (ρ = .140, P = .006) and inversely with body mass index (BMI; ρ = —.142, P = .005), creatinine (Cr) clearance (ρ = —.349, P < .001), and hemoglobin (ρ = —.249, P < .001) values. Linear regression analysis revealed that gender is the main contributor of NT-proBNP levels, followed by age, BMI, and Cr values.