Elevated levels of circulating soluble cell adhesion molecules are associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. We tested the hypothesis that circulating levels of soluble cell adhesion molecules are elevated in older men with uncomplicated essential hypertension, which may contribute to the increased risk of atherosclerosis in this population. Circulating levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin were measured in 11 hypertensive (69+/-1 years) and ten normotensive (65+/-1 years) older men who were free of overt atherosclerotic disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. The hypertensive subjects had higher (P < .05) circulating levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (232.4+/-16.5 v 189.8+/-11.1 ng/mL) and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (737.3+/-65.6 v 565.7+/-46.8 ng/mL) compared with their normotensive peers. However, there was no difference in the levels of soluble E-selectin between the hypertensive (51.1+/-3.9 ng/ mL) and normotensive (48.8+/-6.6 ng/mL) subjects. Univariate analysis revealed a positive correlation between soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and both systolic (r = 0.50, P = .02) and diastolic (r = 0.49, P = .03) blood pressure. In addition, soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 was positively correlated with age (r = 0.60, P = .004) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.43, P = .05). The results of this study support the hypothesis that circulating levels of soluble cell adhesion molecules are elevated in older men with uncomplicated essential hypertension.