Risk factors for microalbuminuria in adult Tibetan patients with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that chronic hypoxia underlies the higher prevalence of microalbuminuria in high-altitude residents than in sea-level dwellers. This study explored the risk factors for microalbuminuria in Tibetans with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study included adult patients with HAPH admitted to the People’s Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region between November 2018 and August 2019. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty patients with HAPH were included in this study, and 69 patients (57.5%) had microalbuminuria. Compared with the patients without microalbuminuria, the microalbuminuria group had significantly higher values for age, pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood hemoglobin concentration, glycated hemoglobin, serum creatinine, and serum uric acid, significantly lower values for heart rate, peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO(2)), estimated glomerular filtration rate, and 6-min walking distance, and poorer New York Heart Association functional class (P<0.05 for all variables). PASP [odds ratio (OR): 1.55; 95% CI: 1.19–2.00; P=0.001] and SpO(2) (OR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.63–0.97; P=0.02) were independently associated with microalbuminuria. CONCLUSIONS: Higher PASP and lower SpO(2) were independently associated with microalbuminuria in adult Tibetan patients with HAPH.