Serum uric acid and 1-h postload glucose in essential hypertension

Subjects who are normal glucose tolerant (NGT) are considered at low risk, even if a plasma glucose value ≥155 mg/dL for the 1-h postload plasma glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is able to identify NGT subjects at high risk for type 2 diabetes and subclinical organ damage. Hyperuricemia is associated with several risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, insulin resistance, and diabetes. However, it is unknown whether uric acid (UA) is able to affect 1-h postload plasma glucose in hypertensive NGT subjects.

From a cohort of ∼1,200 uncomplicated hypertensive outpatients who underwent OGTT, we selected 955 subjects (548 men and 407 women) aged 45.6 ± 10.1 years. Laboratory evaluations were performed, and estimated glomerular filtration rate was assessed by using the new equation proposed by investigators in the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration.

Considering different stepwise multivariate linear regression models, UA was the major predictor of 1-h postload glucose in the entire population, with NGT ≥155 subjects, impaired glucose tolerant, and type 2 diabetic patients accounting for 26.0% (P < 0.0001), 25.3% (P < 0.0001), 13.5% (P < 0.0001), and 13.5% (P = 0.003) of its variation in the respective models.

We documented that in hypertensive NGT ≥155 subjects, UA is strongly associated with 1-h postload glucose, similarly to what is observed in impaired glucose tolerant and diabetic patients.