Association between the uric acid to high-density lipoprotein ratio (UHR) and hypertension in US adults: evidence from NHANES 2005-2020.

Abstract

Uric acid to HDL ratio (UHR) is a new measure of inflammation that has been widely used to study cardiovascular disease relationships. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between uric acid to HDL ratio and hypertension. We found that UHR was positively associated with hypertension prevalence in a nationally representative sample of U.S. participants. In model 3 corrected for multiple confounders, the HR (95% CI) was 1.49 (1.30, 1.70), 2.11 (1.74, 2.54), and 2.97 (2.40, 3.68) for Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively, compared with the reference value (Q1). There was a nonlinear relationship between the ratio of uric acid to HDL and blood pressure, with an inflection point value of approximately 17. The correlation between the ratio of uric acid to HDL and hypertension was more pronounced before the inflection point value, a finding that was consistent across subgroups except for coronary artery disease. Uric acid, HDL and UHR were predictive of the prevalence of hypertension to varying degrees, with Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.62, 0.53, and 0.59, respectively. Therefore, rational monitoring of the ratio of uric acid to HDL can help us in the early prevention of hypertension.