How do glucose, insulin, heart rate, free fatty acids, and plasma cortisol levels relate to blood pressure and obesity in middle-aged men?
Hypertension in middle-aged men is associated with distinct metabolic and hormonal profiles depending on the degree of obesity, with hyperinsulinemia specifically linked to corpulent hypertensives.
Mean glucose concentrations are higher in hypertensive men at all body mass index levels, whereas relative hyperinsulinaemia is present only in the more corpulent hypertensives. Heart rate, free fatty acids level and morning plasma cortisol level are elevated in hypertensive subjects at any body mass index level, but particularly in the lean ones with high systolic blood pressure.
Filipovský et al. (Thu,) studied this question.