[Association between urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio and prehypertension]

This study was operated to investigate the association between urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and physical situations as hypertension and prehypertension among women.

Blood pressure, height, weight and waist circumference were measured and factors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, family history of hypertension, were investigated. Blood glucose and lipid, serum uric acid, urinary albumin and urinary creatinine were tested on 1796 women aged ≥ 30 years living in the Jinchang district of Suzhou. Associations between UACR and hypertension as well as prehypertension were analyzed, by using ordinal multinomial logistic regression models.

The mean levels of UACR were 15.54 (7.67, 32.53), 9.01 (5.45, 18.06), 7.13 (4.60, 12.50) mg/g and the rates of higher UACR were 27.57%, 13.42%, 9.61% in hypertensive, pre-hypertensive and normotensive subjects, respectively, with significant differences noticed among the three groups (P < 0.05). The average systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure appeared to be 125.3/80.9, 128.8/82.7, 130.8/84.0 and 135.1/85.9 mm Hg for participants with UACR in the first, second, third and fourth quartile, respectively. The risks of prehypertension or hypertension increased with increasing UACR levels. Dose-response relationship was seen between UACR and risks of prehypertension or hypertension. Multivariable adjusted odds ratios (95%CI) of prehypertension or hypertension in the upper quartiles of UACR were 1.32 (1.02, 1.70), 1.72 (1.32, 2.24), and 2.37 (1.80, 3.11), respectively, when compared with the lowest quartile.

Elevated UACR was associated with both hypertension and prehypertension among women.