Associations between serum uric acid and the incidence of hypertension: a Chinese senior dynamic cohort study

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of hyperuricemia has increased dramatically during the past several decades. Studies indicating uric acid is an independent risk factor for hypertension did not sufficiently control for other known risk factors. We explored this relationship in a comprehensive Chinese senior dynamic cohort. METHODS: To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and hypertension, we carried out a 6-year retrospective study (2006–2011) in a dynamic cohort with 3591 subjects free of hypertension. The first occasion of documented hypertension per subject was the index event. A Cox proportional hazards model assessed the relationship between SUA and hypertension. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis compared incidence of hypertension among individuals with each SUA quartile. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to obtain the area under the curve as a prediction of hypertension from SUA levels. RESULTS: The cumulative prevalence of hypertension in our cohort was 20.7 %. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was 17.5 %. Cox regression analysis showed that, compared with the lowest SUA quartile (<4.69 mg/dl), the 4.69–5.58, 5.58–6.52, and ≥6.52 mg/dl quartiles yielded hazard ratios (95 % confidence intervals) for hypertension of 1.652 (1.265–2.156), 2.195 (1.705–2.825), and 3.058 (2.399–3.899), respectively. Cumulative incidence of hypertension was consistently higher among individuals with hyperuricemia than among those with normal SUA levels. A Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that hyperuricemia predicted higher incidences of hypertension in a dose-dependent manner: hypertension onset significantly differed across SUA quartiles. SUA levels were significantly and independently associated with incidence of hypertension in our cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Our results, controlling for known risk factors, suggest that SUA level is an independent risk factor for hypertension and could be a useful indicator of hypertension. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-016-0866-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.