Association between serum uric acid level and hypertension in a Chinese elderly rural population

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have examined the association between elevated serum uric acid (SUA) level and hypertension; however, the association in the Chinese elderly is still uncertain. A cross-sectional study was performed in a rural district of Beijing. A total of 2,397 participants (967 men and 1,430 women) completed the survey. The SUA levels of participants were categorized into four levels using the quartiles (P25, P50, and P75) as cutoff values. Participant was diagnosed as hyperuricemia if the SUA level was ≥417 μmol/L (male) or ≥357 μmol/L (female). Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg and/or receiving antihypertensive drug treatment. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the association between SUA and hypertension. We found that higher SUA level was associated with the increased risk of hypertension in both sexes, even after adjusting for potential confounding variables. In total, the risk for having hypertension increased by 0.3% per 1 μmol/L increment in SUA level, increased by 95% for the highest vs. lowest quartile of SUA level, and increased by 111% in the hyperuricemia patients. Moreover, we found that the association was more pronounced in the male participants. There were approximately J-shaped relationships between SUA level (quartiles) and hypertension in all age groups. Higher SUA levels are positively associated with hypertension among the Chinese rural elderly. Further studies are still required to determine the relationship between SUA level and hypertension and to explore its potential biological mechanisms underlying the gender-related association in the elderly population.

Abbreviations: CVD; cardiovascular disease; BMI: body mass index; BP: blood pressure; SUA: serum uric acid; TC: total cholesterol; TG: triglycerides; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein; FPG: fasting blood glucose; OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; SD: standard deviation

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese
• elderly population
• hyperlipoidemia
• hypertension
• serum uric acid

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81072355], [grant number 81373080] and Military Medicine Innovation Fund [grant number 13CXZ029].

Notes on contributors

Yao He

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Bin Jiang

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Miao Liu

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Jianhua Wang

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Di Zhang

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Yiyan Wang

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.

Jing Zeng

YH and BJ helped design the study and analyzed the data. BJ, DLS, and JHW helped with data collection and field operations. All authors helped prepare the manuscript.