The association between carotid intima-media thickness and new-onset hypertension in a Chinese community-based population

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and arterial vasculopathy may be mutual causes and effects. It is unknown whether carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is reliably predictive of the presence of newly developed hypertension in the Chinese population. This study evaluated the impacts of cIMT on new-onset hypertension in a community-based population without hypertension at baseline in China. METHODS: A total of 672 Chinese subjects who had complete data for demographics, baseline and follow-up blood pressure measurements, and cIMT measurements at baseline were included in our study. Baseline cIMT was obtained under standardized procedures using the GE Vivid 7 ultrasound system equipped with an 8-MHz linear array vascular probe (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wl, USA). The outcome was the incidence of hypertension at follow-up. Multivariate regression models were used to access the association between baseline cIMT and the risk of new-onset hypertension. RESULTS: Subjects were 51.5 ± 4.7 years old, and 32.0% were male. The mean baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 122.5 ± 10.0 mmHg. The mean baseline diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 72.4 ± 7.5 mmHg. The number of subjects with thickened cIMT (maximum ≥0.9 mm) at baseline was 198 (29.5%). After 2.3 years of follow-up, the rate of new-onset hypertension was 12.6%. The incidence rates of hypertension in the groups with thickened cIMT and normal cIMT were 19.2 and 9.9%, respectively. In the multivariable logistic regression analyses, both the average (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.30–2.19, P = 0.0001) and maximum (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.23–1.95, P = 0.0002) cIMT were significantly associated with new-onset hypertension after adjustment for various confounders. The group with thickened cIMT showed a higher risk for the incidence of hypertension, with an OR of 1.82 (95% CI: 1.07–3.10, P = 0.0270), compared to the normal group. CONCLUSION: Thickened cIMT has a strong association with incident hypertension risk in a community-based population without hypertension at baseline in China.