Serum uric acid is not independently associated with plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone in hypertensive adults.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
In experimental investigations conducted in rats, raising serum uric acid (SUA) levels resulted in the stimulation of intrarenal renin expression. Studies in humans exploring the association of SUA with plasma renin activity (PRA) yielded conflicting results. Moreover, little is known about the relationship of SUA with plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC). The study aimed to assess the relationship between SUA levels, PRA, and PAC and the influence of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and hyperuricemia on these relationships in subjects with essential hypertension (EH).


METHODS AND RESULTS
We enrolled 372 hypertensive patients (mean age 45 ± 12 years, men 67%) with uncomplicated EH that was not pharmacologically treated. The study population was divided in tertiles according to SUA levels. While PRA did not differ significantly across the three tertiles, PAC was higher in subjects belonging to the uppermost tertile of SUA than those in the lower ones (p = 0.0429); however, this difference lost statistical significance after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and serum creatinine. Univariate correlation analyses showed significant associations of SUA with PRA (r = 0.137; p = 0.008) and PAC (r = 0.179; p < 0.001). However, these relationships were not significant after correcting for confounding factors in multiple linear regression analyses. We did not observe statistically significant effect modification by gender, age, BMI, and hyperuricemia.


CONCLUSION
SUA levels are weakly associated with PRA and PAC in adults with untreated EH. These relationships were lost after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and serum creatinine.
['Mulè|G|G|', 'Castiglia|A|A|', 'Morreale|M|M|', 'Geraci|G|G|', 'Cusumano|C|C|', 'Guarino|L|L|', 'Altieri|D|D|', 'Panzica|M|M|', 'Vaccaro|F|F|', 'Cottone|S|S|']
D050154:Adiposity D000328:Adult D000367:Age Factors D000450:Aldosterone D015415:Biomarkers D001794:Blood Pressure D016009:Chi-Square Distribution D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D006973:Hypertension D033461:Hyperuricemia D007668:Kidney D016014:Linear Models D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D015999:Multivariate Analysis D012083:Renin D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System D012307:Risk Factors D012737:Sex Factors D014527:Uric Acid
Uric acid Plasma renin activity Plasma aldosterone Essential hypertension Arterial hypertension Blood pressure