STUDY OF MICROALBUMINURIA IN PATIENTS WITH NORMOGLYCEMIC HYPERTENSION

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The incidence of microalbuminuria is more common among hypertensive patients, even in nondiabetic patients. Microalbuminuria is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with essential hypertension. Therefore, current guidelines recommend routine screening of microalbuminuria in hypertensive patients to ensure appropriate interventions are initiated early in the disease process before progression to chronic kidney disease and/or renal failure. AIMS & OBJECTIVES:This study is done to estimate the prevalence of microalbuminuria in patients with normoglycemic hypertension and to identify other variables associated with it. MATERIAL & METHODS:In this study, we randomly selected 100 patients with essential hypertension based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. CBC, renal function test, 24-hour urine albumin excretion (UAE), Body mass index (BMI), and arterial blood pressure measurement were done among all selected patients. Data entry was done in Microsoft Ofce Excel and analysis was done using the software package Epi Info (Version 7.1.5) from CDC, Atlanta, U.S.A. OBSERVATIONS & RESULTS: The study was conducted among 100 hypertensive patients out of which 74 were male and 24 were female. Out of 100 patients, microalbuminuria was present in 44 patients. Mean arterial pressure was found high among patients with microalbuminuria than patients without microalbuminuria. The presence of microalbumin in urine was found to increase with the increasing severity of hypertension. Mean body mass index and serum creatinine were found higher in the microalbuminuric group than the normoalbuminuric group. CONCLUSION:The incidence of microalbuminuria is more common among hypertensive patients, even in nondiabetic patients. The presence of microalbuminuria is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with essential hypertension. Screening for microalbuminuria is a relatively simple process, should facilitate early vascular disease detection.