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Uric acid levels predict future blood pressure and new onset hypertension in the general Japanese population

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 28, pages 529–534 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that uric acid levels predict new-onset hypertension in the Japanese general population. Normotensive individuals who visited our hospital for a yearly health checkup (n=8157, men=61.0% and age=50.7±12.2 years) were enrolled in the present study. After baseline evaluation, participants were followed up for a median of 48.3 months (range 4.9–101.0 months), with the endpoint being the development of hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ⩾140 mm Hg, diastolic BP ⩾90 mm Hg or the use of antihypertensive medication. The impact of uric acid and other cardiovascular risk factors at baseline on future BP and development of hypertension was assessed. During follow-up, 19.0% of women (n=605) and 29.5% of men (n=1 469) participants developed hypertension. Incident hypertension was increased across the quartiles for baseline uric acid levels (P<0.0001), and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed a significant and independent association between the uric acid level and the onset of hypertension in both men and women participants (P<0.05). Furthermore, uric acid was independently and positively correlated with future BP (P<0.05). Thus, uric acid is an independent predictor of new-onset hypertension in both women and men.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Enshu Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan

    H Takase

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Asahi Rosai Hospital, Owariasahi, Japan

    G Kimura

  3. Department of Cardio-Renal Medicine and Hypertension, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan

    Y Dohi

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  1. H Takase
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  2. G Kimura
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  3. Y Dohi
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Correspondence to Y Dohi.

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Takase, H., Kimura, G. & Dohi, Y. Uric acid levels predict future blood pressure and new onset hypertension in the general Japanese population. J Hum Hypertens 28, 529–534 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.143

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