Relationship between serum uric acid and hypertension in the general US population aged 20 years and older: A cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2007 to 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum uric acid (UA) levels and hypertension in American individuals 20 years of age and older. We used continuous cross-sectional surveys from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States from 2007 to 2016. Our selected population was adults aged 20 years and older in the United States. We examined the association between serum UA and risk of hypertension using weighted univariate logistic regression analysis, weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis, weighted subgroup analysis, and weighted restricted cubic spline analysis. Serum UA was significantly linked with hypertension in a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for all variables (odds ratio [OR]: 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–1.28, P < .001). Furthermore, dividing serum UA into quartiles (Q) revealed an association between elevated serum UA and increased risk of hypertension [Q1 = (OR: 1.00), Q2 = (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.95–1.37, P = .159), Q3 = OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.10–1.52, P = .002), Q4 = OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.58–2.38, P = .161). Additionally, we conducted subgroup analyses for age, sex, race, education, marital status, diabetes status, smoking, and alcohol use and discovered that these factors had a moderating effect on serum UA and hypertension (P < .05). Last but not least, we looked into the nonlinear link between serum UA and hypertension using weighted restricted cubic splines and discovered that there was no such relationship. The segmental effect of serum UA and hypertension, with an inflection point of 5.079 (mg/dL), was discovered in our gender-stratified study. And in analyses stratified by race and marital status, we similarly found a dose-response relationship between UA and hypertension among Hispanics and unmarried people. Our study showed a positive correlation between serum UA and hypertension.