High-normal blood pressure and microalbuminuria

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Nephrology
• Public Health

Background:

• High-normal blood pressure (BP) is linked to increased cardiovascular risk.
• Microalbuminuria is an established predictor of future cardiovascular events.
• The association between high-normal BP and microalbuminuria has not been previously studied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between high-normal blood pressure and microalbuminuria.
• To determine if high-normal BP is a predictor of microalbuminuria in normotensive individuals.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
• Categorized BP into optimal, normal, and high-normal ranges.
• Analyzed associations between BP categories, systolic BP, diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and microalbuminuria using multivariate logistic regression.

Main Results:

• High-normal BP was significantly associated with increased odds of microalbuminuria compared to optimal BP (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.51 to 3.01).
• Mean arterial pressure (OR, 1.41), systolic BP (OR, 1.27), and diastolic BP (OR, 1.29) were also significantly associated with microalbuminuria per 10-mm Hg increment.
• These associations remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusions:

• High-normal blood pressure is significantly associated with microalbuminuria.
• Microalbuminuria may serve as a biomarker for the increased cardiovascular risk associated with high-normal BP.
• These findings highlight the importance of monitoring BP even in the high-normal range for cardiovascular risk assessment.