Evaluation of Serum Levels of Ischemia Modified Albumin in a Nigerian Population with Primary Hypertension

Abstract Objectives: Levels of Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) were determined in pre-hypertensives and hypertensives to possibly identify those at a greater risk of ischemic organ damage. Methodology: Eighty-four (84) participants were recruited for this study. They were divided into three groups of 28 participants each based on their blood pressure namely normotensive, pre-hypertensive, and hypertensive. Demographic details of the participants were obtained using a questionnaire. The levels of IMA, serum lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, High Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), and Low-Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c)), fasting blood glucose, serum electrolytes, urea, creatinine, and albumin, the ratio of triglyceride to HDL-c (TG-HDL-c), and triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) were investigated. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s Chi-square test, partial correlations, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) statistics. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Levels of IMA were significantly elevated in the hypertensive group. After adjusting for age and BMI, IMA showed a significant positive correlation with systolic blood pressure, partial pressure, albumin, glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-c, and TG-HDL-c but a negative correlation with HDL-c and potassium. IMA also demonstrated a discriminative ability for elevated blood pressure with an ROC area under the curve of 0.75. With a cut-off value of 0.36 ABSU, it had a sensitivity of 0.64, specificity of 0.86, and Youden J index of 0.49. Conclusion: Elevated IMA levels were correlated with biomarkers of dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, and insulin resistance. IMA levels could be used as a predictive marker of cardiovascular diseases related to ischemia and can help flag individuals at risk, thereby facilitating early treatment interventions.