Association of hyperuricemia and hypertension phenotypes in hypertensive patients without uric acid lowering treatment

Background Current study was to evaluate the association of hypertensive and hypertension phenotypes in hypertensive populations. Methods Patients with primary hypertension and without any uric acid (UA)-lowering treatment were enrolled. Baseline characteristics including office blood pressure (OBP), 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), and serum UA (SUA) were measured. According to SUA, patients were divided into normal SUA and hyperuricemia groups. Based on OBP and 24 h-ABP, hypertension phenotypes were classified as controlled hypertension (CH), white-coat uncontrolled hypertension (WCUH), masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH), and sustained uncontrolled hypertension (SUCH). Results Compared to patients with normal SUA (n = 336), patients with hyperuricemia (n = 284) were older and more likely to be men, obese, physically inactive, and have a higher prevalence of diabetes. C-reactive protein (CRP) level was higher in patients with hyperuricemia. The prevalence of CH, WCUH, and MUCH was similar between these two groups. However, the prevalence of SUCH was higher in patients with hyperuricemia than patients with normal SUA. Linear regression analysis indicated that increased SUA was significantly associated with 24 h-systolic BP and daytime-systolic BP. Normal SUA was served as the reference group, and presence of hyperuricemia was associated with higher odds of SUCH (odds ratio 1.46 and 95% confidence interval 1.27–1.93) after adjusted for potential covariates including age, male gender, obesity, diabetes, CRP, and antihypertensive drugs. Conclusion In hypertensive patients without UA-lowering treatment, presence of hyperuricemia was associated with higher odds of SUCH. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether lowering SUA can help to improve 24 h-ABP control.