Background Elevated serum uric acid levels are commonly seen in association with hypertension, increased body mass index, hyperinsulinemia and dyslipidemia, a cluster of metabolic and hemodynamic disorders which characterize the so-called metabolic syndrome. Hyperuricemia might often be regarded as a marker of target organ damage and progression of renal dysfunction in hypertensive patients. However, the role of uric acid as an independent cardiovascular risk factor is uncertain. Objective The prevalence of hyperuricemia in patients with essential, untreated, mild and moderate hypertension and comparison of prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in hypertensives according to hyperuricemia presence.
Material and methods 266 patients with primary, untreated arterial hypertension aged 39 to 75 (mean age 53.2 ± 8.9) were studied. The prevalence of different cardiovascular risk factor eg. cigarette smoking, obesity, high total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine and glucose level was compared in subgroups of different uric acid concentration using chi square test.
Results Hyperuricemia was found in 41 of 266 patients. The strongest relationship was observed between uric acid level and creatinine level. The mean creatinine level in HU group was 93.5 μmol/l vs. 84.8 μmol/l in NU group (p = 0.0029). The prevalence of typical cardiovascular risk factors was not significantly different between HU and NU group.
Conclusion The prevalence of hyperuricemia in Polish population of untreated hypertensive patients is around 15%. Results confirmed that uric acid is a marker of renal dysfunction progression, but hyperuricemia was not associated with statistical higher prevalence of established cardiovascular risk factors in hypertensive patients.