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Serum uric acid level is associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure over time in female subjects: Linear mixed-effects model analyses

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 344–353 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Whether hyperuricemia is a true risk factor for elevated blood pressure (BP) is controversial, and the sex-specific effects of serum uric acid (SUA) on BP during a follow-up period remain unclear. We investigated whether the association of SUA level with systolic or diastolic BP during a 10-year period differs by sex in a Japanese general population of individuals who received annual health examinations (n = 28,990). After exclusion of subjects who had no BP or SUA data at baseline, a total of 22,994 subjects (male/female: 14,603/8391, age: 47 ± 11 years) were recruited. After adjustment for age; body mass index; BP; SUA level; use of drugs for hyperuricemia and hypertension; diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and chronic kidney disease; family history of hypertension; habits of current smoking and alcohol consumption at baseline; the duration of the observation period; and the interaction between each covariate and the duration of the observation period indicated a significant association of SUA level with change in systolic or diastolic BP over time. There was a significant interaction between sex and SUA level for the change in systolic BP (P = 0.003) but not the change in diastolic BP (P = 0.081). The SUA level at baseline (per 1 mg/dL) was significantly associated with a change in systolic BP over time in females (estimate: 0.073 mmHg/year, P = 0.003) but not in males (estimate: 0.020 mmHg/year, P = 0.160). In conclusion, a high SUA level at baseline is significantly associated with an increase in systolic BP over time in female individuals but not in male individuals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Keita Numata and Takashi Hisasue for data management.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Kazuma Mori, Masato Furuhashi

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Kazuma Mori, Masato Furuhashi, Marenao Tanaka, Yukimura Higashiura, Masayuki Koyama & Hirofumi Ohnishi

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Japan Self-Defense Forces Sapporo Hospital, Sapporo, Japan

    Kazuma Mori

  3. Department of Public Health, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    Masayuki Koyama & Hirofumi Ohnishi

  4. Department of Health Checkup and Promotion, Keijinkai Maruyama Clinic, Sapporo, Japan

    Nagisa Hanawa

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Mori, K., Furuhashi, M., Tanaka, M. et al. Serum uric acid level is associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure over time in female subjects: Linear mixed-effects model analyses. Hypertens Res 45, 344–353 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-021-00792-1

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