SOST and hypertensive disorder: In a forward stepwise regression model including all cases, the most significant predictors were shown to be the intima-media thickness (multiple R = 0.50, p < 0.0001), gender (R = 0.58, p = 0.002), and the serum OPG level (R = 0.628, p = 0.010) when the model was adjusted for hypertension, left-ventricular end-diastolic diameter, serum sclerostin, and the level of physical exercise (Table 3A).