At baseline, median GDF-15 levels were not influenced by gender (males vs. females with 776.3 vs. 764.1 pg/mL, p>0.5) but were significantly higher in patients with known arterial hypertension (854.3 vs. 571.6 pg/mL, p<0.001) and in diabetics (1142 vs. 704.9 pg/mL, p<0.001). Here, GDF15 is linked to Hypertension.