Relationship between serum uric acid and hypertension: a cross-sectional study in Bangladeshi adults

Shiful Islam,Nazmul Haque,Shahnaz Rahman,Rasheda Perveen,Golam Mosaib,Sadaqur Rahman,Farjana Islam,Shakil Mahmood,Farida Adib Khanum,Tangigul Haque,Nurshad Ali

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45680-4

Shiful Islam, Nazmul Haque + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45680-4

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Abstract

Experimental evidence suggests a causal role of serum uric acid (SUA) in hypertension development. Currently, there are few data available on the association between SUA and hypertension; data from Bangladeshi adults are not available yet. This study evaluated the association of SUA with hypertension among Bangladeshi adults. Blood samples were obtained from 140 males and 115 females and analyzed for SUA and lipid levels. Hypertension was defined as SBP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg. All participants were divided into four quartiles based on SUA concentrations. Association of SUA with hypertension was evaluated by logistic regression models. The prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension was significantly higher in male (15.4 and 47.6%, respectively) than in the female (5.6 and 33.4%, respectively) subjects (p < 0.01). Males had a higher mean level of SUA (310.7 ± 67.9 µmol/L) than in the females (255.3 ± 69.3 µmol/L) (p < 0.001). Hyperuricemia was prevalent 9.1% in males and 10.3% in females. An increasing trend for hypertension and prehypertension was found in both genders with increasing SUA levels in the quartiles (p < 0.01). SUA levels in the quartiles were positively correlated with blood pressure (p < 0.01). After adjusting for baseline covariates, SUA levels were significantly associated with hypertension (p < 0.01). Findings of this study indicate the significance of maintaining normal SUA level to prevent hypertension.

Highlights

The prevalence of hypertension is increasing worldwide and is an important contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and premature death[1,2]
A few small-scale clinical trials have shown that Serum uric acid (SUA)-lowering agents like probenecid and allopurinol are able to reduce blood pressure in adolescents[29,30], suggesting that SUA might be an independent risk factor for hypertension
In Pearson’s correlation coefficient test, SUA levels were significantly associated with SBP and DBP (p < 0.001)

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of hypertension is increasing worldwide and is an important contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and premature death[1,2]. Increased SUA has been found to be associated with CVDs, gout, metabolic syndrome and renal dysfunction[15,16,17,18]. An association between increased SUA and hypertension has been reported in some www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Www.nature.com/scientificreports epidemiological studies[22,23,24,25,26,27] It still remains unclear whether SUA is a risk factor, a mediator or merely a marker for hypertension in humans[28]. There are few studies that explored the relationship between SUA levels and hypertension in the general healthy population. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether elevated SUA level is associated with hypertension in general adults in Bangladesh

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