A study of serum uric acid level in hypertensive patients

Abstract

Background: Various risk factors for development of hypertension, both modifiable and non modifiable ,have been identified to aid in its prevention and management. In recent years, various studies have shown serum uric acid (UA) levels to be an independent predictor for developing hypertension. This study determined the uric acid level in hypertensive patients and established a relation between hypertension and uric acid level. Materials and methods: It was a case control study done from 1 st March 2018 to 31 st August 2018,which included a total of 80 newly diagnosed hypertensive cases and 80 normotensive controls matched for age and sex admitted in the Department of Medicine GMCH. The cases were classified into the various stages of hypertension as per the JNC-7 classification criteria.One way ANOVA analysis was performed to compare the differences in mean serum uric acid levels in the various categories. Results: The mean serum uric acid level among the controls was 5.09±1.33 mg/ dl while among the cases was 5.72±1.35 mg/dl. Among the cases, mean serum uric acid in stage 1 and stage 2 HTN were 5.15±0.97 and 6.35±1.45 mg/dl respectively. There was statistically significant differences among the 3 groups, i.e between stage 1 and stage 2 HTN, between control group and stage 1 HTN and between control group and stage 2 HTN, with a p value <.05. Conclusion: There was statistically significant differences between mean serum uric acid levels of newly diagnosed hypertensive cases and age and sex matched normotensive healthy controls and it tends to rise with the severity of hypertension.