The Association between Elevated Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT)
and Serum Uric Acid Levels among Patients with Essential Hypertension in
Primary Care Setting.
Abstract
Aims: Our study aimed to investigate the relationships between elevated
carotid-intima media thickness (CIMT) and serum uric acid (SUA) levels
in hypertensive patients attending primary care clinics. Methods: We
conducted a cross-sectional study on 140 hypertensive patients attending
out-patient follow-up in two primary care clinics in Sungai Buloh,
Malaysia, using a convenient sampling method. Serum uric acid levels
were measured and divided into 4-quartile. Two radiologist specialists
performed B mode ultrasonography to assess the right and left CIMT in
all participants. Results: Participants’ mean SUA level was 355.75 ±
0.13. Their mean age was 53.44 (± 9.90), with a blood pressure control
of 137.09 ± 13.22 / 81.89 ± 8.95. Elevated CIMT taken at ≥75th
percentile was 0.666 for the left and 0.633 for the right common carotid
arteries. Using multiple logistic regression, compared with the first
quartile of the SUA level, the odd of elevated CIMT in quartile four in
the common carotid artery was (OR=2.00; 95% CI= 0.64-6.27, p=0.576) for
the right and (OR=0.62; 95% CI= 0.20-2.00, p=0.594) for the left. Waist
circumference (p = 0.001), body mass index (p=0.013), triglycerides
(p<0.001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p=0.001)
were significantly associated with the SUA quartiles. Conclusion:
Although there was an increasing trend in the odd of elevated right CIMT
across the SUA quartiles, this association, however, was not
significant. Preventive effort to tackle the clustering effect of
metabolic markers within this study population is needed to reduce the
future risk of developing cardiovascular disease.