Meta-analysis on the effect of mild primary hyperparathyroidism and parathyroidectomy upon arterial stiffness

CONTEXT: current data about the cardiovascular manifestations of mild primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) are often conflicting. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the gold-standard method for assessing aortic stiffness, which predicts cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.OBJECTIVE: Primary outcomes were to investigate if mild pHPT was associated with higher PWV and if parathyroidectomy (PTX) reduced PWV in mild pHPT. Secondary outcome was to investigate blood pressure changes after PTX.DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library.STUDY SELECTION: Eligible studies included reports of PWV in patients with mild pHPT and controls, or in patients with mild pHPT before and after PTX.DATA EXTRACTION: Two investigators independently identified eligible studies and extracted data. Pooled mean difference (MD) was the summary effect measure. Data were presented in forest plots with outlier and influential case diagnostics.DATA SYNTHESIS: Nine observational studies and one RCT were selected, including 433 patients with mild pHPT, 171 of whom underwent PTX, and 407 controls. PWV was significantly higher in mild pHPT as compared to controls (MD=1.18, 0.67 to 1.68, p<0.0001). Seven studies evaluated the effect of PTX on PWV. PTX significantly reduced PWV (MD= -0.48, -0.88 to -0.07, p=0.022).CONCLUSION: Aortic stiffness is increased in patients with mild pHPT, supporting the notion that also mild pHPT is associated with adverse cardiovascular manifestations. PTX significantly reduced arterial stiffness in mild pHPT, indicating that the benefit of PTX over cardiovascular manifestations should not be dismissed but it deserves further studies.