Bidirectional and Temporal Association Between Hypertension and Microalbuminuria: A Longitudinal Study in Chinese Adults

BACKGROUND: Although hypertension and microalbuminuria are closely interrelated, the magnitude and temporal sequence of the bidirectional association between hypertension and microalbuminuria are largely unknown. We aimed to delineate the bidirectional and temporal relationship between hypertension and microalbuminuria. METHODS AND RESULTS: Leveraging a longitudinal cohort of Chinese adults who had blood pressure and urinary albumin measured twice 4 years apart, we examined the temporal association between hypertension and microalbuminuria by bidirectional and cross‐lagged panel analysis. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease at baseline. Bidirectional association analysis found that baseline microalbuminuria predicted the risk of incident hypertension (odds ratio=1.75, P=0.028), and baseline blood pressure also significantly predicted the risk of microalbuminuria (odds ratios=1.27 and 1.21 for a per‐SD increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively; all P<0.05). Cross‐lagged panel analysis demonstrated a bottom‐line significant relationship of baseline systolic blood pressure to follow‐up urinary albumin (P=0.079), which is significantly weaker than the other direction of the relationship of baseline urinary albumin to follow‐up blood pressures (all P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a significant bidirectional association between microalbuminuria and hypertension in Chinese adults. Elevated urinary albumin excretion is more likely to precede hypertension. The causality between microalbuminuria and hypertension needs further investigation.