Abstract
Introduction. Preliminary evidence suggests that hypercholesterolemia is associated to an increased risk to develop hypertension. We aimed at evaluating the association between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and incidence of new onset of hypertension in a large population sample.
Materials and methods. A population-based cohort of 20,074 subjects with at least one LDL-C measurement between July 2006 and June 2007 and free of antihypertensive treatment (AHT) at baseline was followed from the LDL-C date until death or 31 December 2009.
Results. During the follow-up, 10.7% of patients with LDL-C < 130 mg/dL, 13.2% of patients with LDL-C between 130 and 159 mg/dL, 12.2% of patients with LDL-C between 160 and 189 mg/dL, and 13.9% of patients with LDL-C ≥ 190 mg/dL had new-onset hypertension requiring the initiation of AHT. Compared with the LDL-C < 130 mg/dL group, the hazard ratio (HR) of initiation of AHT increased among those with LDL-C level between 130 and 159 mg/dL (HR 1.23; 95% CI: 1.08–1.40), those with LDL-C level between 160 and 189 mg/dL (HR 1.24; 95% CI: 1.01–1.51), and those with LDL-C ≥ 190 mg/dL (HR 1.45; 95% CI: 1.11–1.89).
Conclusion. A better control of cholesterolemia seems to be associated to a lower incidence of new-onset of hypertension requiring AHT in a large cohort of general population.
Declaration of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests in the publication of this paper.