Diagnostic criteria of endothelial dysfunction, subclinical atherosclerosis and their relationship with NOS3 and HIF1A gene polymorphism in military personnel in extreme conditions of the arctic zone

The state of the arterial vascular endothelium against the background of subclinical atherosclerosis and its relationship with gene polymorphism in military personnel serving in the Arctic climatic zone, depending on the duration of service, was evaluated. In total, 251 male servicemen aged 28–40 years were examined. The group of servicemen of the Arctic climate zone included 99 people, who were divided into three groups according to the duration of military service in the Arctic: group 1 included 8 (8%) servicemen with up to 5 years of military service; group 2, 21 (21%) people with 5–10 years; group 3, 70 (71%) servicemen with > 10 years. The control group included 152 military personnel aged 28–40 years from the temperate climate zone. All participants underwent a test with reactive hyperemia, elastography, measurement of the thickness of the intima–media complex on the brachial artery, ultrasound examination of the common carotid arteries, photoplethysmography, pulse oximetry, spirometry, anthropometry, biochemical blood analysis, and determination of gene polymorphism using polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that endothelium-dependent vasodilation rats in groups 2 and 3 were 1. 7 and 2. 7 times less than that in group 1 (p < 0. 05). In 11 (16%) military personnel of group 3, thickening of the intima–media complex was found in >50% of the adjacent areas of the common carotid arteries. In groups 2 and 3, the total blood cholesterol level exceeded the value by 10% and 14%, respectively, compared with group 1 (p < 0. 05). The artery wall was rigid in carriers of the T/T genotypes of the HIF1A and NOS3 genes and was most elastic in the G/T genotypes of the NOS3 gene and C/C of the HIF1A gene. In general, military personnel serving in the Arctic climatic zone with a service duration of >10 years have endothelial dysfunction and peripheral vascular stiffness with subclinical atherosclerosis phenomena, particularly in military personnel with the T/T genotypes of HIF1A (rs11549465) and NOS3 (rs1799983). We believe that the leading pathogenetic link of endothelial dysfunction of arterial vessels is the resistance of myocytes to the effects of vasodilation factors expressed by the vascular endothelium, particularly nitric oxide. The longer the service experience of military personnel under conditions of polar hypoxia, the higher the probability of developing endothelial dysfunction.