Association of serum uric acid with aortic stiffness and pressure in a Chinese workplace setting

Abstract

Background: In the present analysis, we investigated the association of serum uric acid with aortic stiffness and pressure as measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and central systolic blood pressure (SBP), respectively.

Methods: Our study was conducted in the framework of cardiovascular health examinations for the employees of a factory and their family members (ages 15-79 years). We performed arterial measurements using the SphygmoCor device. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid concentration of at least 420 micromol/l in men and 360 micromol/l in women.

Results: The 940 study participants included 207 (22.0%) hypertensive patients, of whom 92 (9.8%) took antihypertensive medication. Men (n = 620), compared with women (n = 320), had significantly (P < or = 0.03) higher serum uric acid concentration (363 +/- 76 vs. 272 +/- 64 micromol/l), prevalence of hyperuricemia (17.9% vs. 7.5%), cf-PWV (7.41 vs. 7.16 m/s), and central SBP (114.4 vs. 108.8 mm Hg). Both before and after adjustment for age, serum uric acid was significantly (P < or = 0.02) and positively associated with cf-PWV and central SBP in all subjects and in men and women separately. After full adjustment for covariates, the association with cf-PWV remained statistically significant (P < or = 0.009) in all subjects and men, and with central SBP in all subjects only. Categorical analyses were confirmatory. In all subjects, patients with hyperuricemia had significantly (P = 0.03) higher cf-PWV (7.51 vs. 7.29 m/s) and central SBP (114.9 vs. 112.1 mm Hg) than those with normal serum uric acid.

Conclusions: Serum uric acid was associated with aortic stiffness and pressure in a Chinese workplace setting, especially in men.